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EORGE  W.  TRUETT 


I 


BX  6333  .T8  W4 

Truett,  George  W.  1867-194^ 

We  would  see  Jesus 


We  Would  See  Jesus 

And  Other  Sermons 


We  Would  See  Jesus 


And  Other  Sermons     X^-  ^'^  ^^''^•' 

.OCT  31  1S3 

By  Xi:!;-0(;iCALSF-VV 

GEORGE  W.  TRUETT,  D.  D. 

Castor  First  Baptist  Church,  Dallas,  Tex<u 


Compiled  and  edited  by 
I.  B.  CRANFILL,  LL.  D, 


A 


New  York  Chicago  Toronto 

Fleming  H.    Revell    Company 
London  and  Edinburgh 


Copyright,  19 15.  by 
FLEMING  H    REVELL  COMPANY 


New  York:  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago:  17  North  Wabash  Ave. 
London:  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh:      75     Princes    Street 


Foreword 

IT  is  with  great  joy  that  this  volume  of  sermons  is 
given  to  the  world.  It  has  been  a  task  attended 
with  many  difficulties.  The  first  great  difficulty 
was  in  securing  the  consent  of  Pastor  George  W. 
Truett  for  such  publication.  While  the  writer  has 
for  years  pressed  upon  him  the  duty  of  allowing  his 
sermons  to  be  published  in  book  form,  it  was  only  a 
year  ago  that  he  agreed  that  this  work  should  be 
done.  During  the  intervening  time  he  has  more 
than  once  hesitated,  but  has  at  last  permitted  the 
editor  and  compiler  to  proceed  with  the  work. 

These  sermons  were  stenographically  reported  and, 
aside  from  the  correction  of  obvious  minor  errors 
inevitable  in  rapid  speaking  and  reporting,  they 
appear  just  as  they  came  hot  from  the  preacher's 
heart.  I  have  not  wanted  to  have  them  marred  by  a 
too  critical  revision  by  either  the  author  or  the 
editor.  He  has  had  very  little  time  for  corrections, 
and  I  have  had  no  disposition  to  make  changes  or 
suggest  emendations.  The  sermons,  then,  appear  as 
preached. 

The  life- sketch  which  accompanies  this  volume  is 
solely  the  work  of  the  writer.  I  feel  sure  that  if 
Pastor  Truett  had  been  consulted  he  would  never 
have  been  willing  for  it  to  appear  in  the  volume. 
It  is  not  that  the  biographical  data  are  not  correct, 
for  they  are,  but  on  account  of  his  modesty  the  sub- 

6 


6  FOEEWOED 

ject  of  the  sketch  would,  I  am  sure,  have  forbidden 
its  publication  if  he  had  known  all  that  it  contained. 

I  have  also  taken  the  liberty,  on  my  own  account, 
of  giving  herewith  a  character  sketch  of  Pastor  Truett 
by  Dr.  John  E.  White,  which  cannot  fail  to  be  of 
interest  to  the  reader. 

With  these  words  this  volume  is  sent  out  upon  its 
mission  of  helpfulness  and  love.  When  these  sermons 
were  preached  many  were  led  to  Christ  under  the 
spell  of  their  appeal ;  it  is  the  hope  of  the  writer  that 
thousands  may  be  brought  into  abiding  fellowship 
with  our  Eedeemer  through  the  reading  of  the  pages 
that  follow. 

To  every  soul  in  need  of  light  and  help  ;  to  every 
heart  bowed  under  the  weight  of  sin  or  grief  or 
tears ;  to  every  one  whose  face  is  clothed  upon  with 
life's  sunset  glow ;  to  every  one  tempted,  discouraged, 
sad-hearted  or  bereaved,  this  book  is  sent  with  the 
devout  prayer  that  it  may  bring  hope  and  comfort, 
and  give  them,  each  and  all,  new  visions  of  the 
Master's  grace  and  love. 

J.  B.  C. 


Contents 


X. 

XI. 
XII. 


Life  Sketch  of  Geoege  W.  Teuett 

George  W.   Tbuett  the  Man  and 
Preacher      .... 

I.  We  Would  See  Jesus 

II.  A  Prayer  for  a  Eevival  . 

III.  Trumpeting  the  Gospel    . 

IV.  A  New  Testament  Good  Man   . 
Y.  An  Old  Testament  Good  Man  . 

VI.  The  Temptation  of  Our  Saviour 

VII.  Intercessory  Prayer 

VIII.  The  Growth  of  Faith 

IX.  Christ's  Message  to  the  Weak 
The  Conquering  Hosts  of  God 
The  Supreme  Gift  to  Jesus 


The  Subject  and  the  Object  of  the 
Gospel 


9 

16 

23 

36 

54 

76 

92 
107 
121 
137i^ 
150 
166 
182 

199 


Life  Sketch  of  George  W.  Truett 
By  J,  B,  Cranfill 

THE  life  story  of  George  W.  Truett  had  its  simple 
beginning  in  a  quiet  farmhouse  which  nestled 
in  the  woods  in  an  escarpment  of  the  Blue  Ridge 
Mountains  of  North  Carolina.  His  parents  were  C.  L. 
and  Mary  Truett.  His  father,  who  at  the  ripe  age  of 
eighty-six  is  still  among  us,  is,  himself,  a  man  of  mark  in 
his  community,  and  his  mother,  whom  this  writer  had  the 
pleasure  of  personally  knowing,  was  one  of  the  most  esti- 
mable Christian  women  it  has  ever  been  ray  pleasure  to 
meet. 

George  W.  Truett  was  reared  to  farm  work,  and  many 
were  the  days  that  he  followed  the  furrow  and  harvested 
the  crop  on  that  quiet  farm  where  his  father  and  mother 
and  other  loved  ones  lived  and  wrought. 

Into  that  home  came  many  important  periodicals.  While 
C.  L.  Truett,  the  father,  was  a  man  of  unostentatious  life 
and  limited  resources,  he  placed  within  reach  of  his  chil- 
dren the  best  literature  the  world  was  then  producing. 
Not  only  that,  but  there  was  a  growing  library  in  that 
home.  There  were  such  classics  as  Bunyan's  ''Pilgrim's 
Progress,"  Baxter's  "Saints*  Everlasting  Rest,"  Pendle- 
ton's ''Christian  Doctrines,"  Fox's  "Book  of  Martyrs," 
and  some  choice  works  of  fiction,  and  upon  these  the  mind 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  fed,  grew  and  expanded  with 
the  ongoing  of  the  years. 

In  his  boyhood  George  W.  Truett  had  but  limited 
9 


10    LIFE  SKETCH  OF  GEOEGE  W.  TRUETT 

educational  advantages,  but  such  as  he  had  were  eagerly 
grasped,  with  the  result  that  his  mind  was  enriched  and 
found  increasing  expansion.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he 
began  teaching.  A  year  afterwards  he  founded  the  Hia- 
wasse  (Georgia)  High  School,  and  was  its  principal  for 
three  years.  This  school  drew  students  from  many  sec- 
tions far  and  near. 

It  was  during  his  incumbency  as  principal  of  this  insti- 
tution that  he  visited  the  Georgia  Baptist  State  Conven- 
tion, an  account  of  which  is  given  in  the  character-sketch 
appearing  in  this  volume  from  the  pen  of  Rev.  John  E. 
White. 

C.  L.  Truett  always  had  the  heart  of  a  pioneer.  Many 
is  the  time  that  he  looked  across  the  old  North  Carolina 
hills  and  wondered  what  alluring  prospects  lay  beyond. 
But  it  was  not  until  some  of  his  children  had  found  the 
western  trail  and  landed  in  Texas  that  he  and  his  devoted 
wife  moved  to  Whitewright,  Grayson  County.  Before  the 
parents  and  other  loved  ones  had  made  their  way  to 
Texas,  George  W.  Truett  had  dreamed  of  a  college  course 
at  Mercer  University,  but  when  the  entire  household  had 
left  him,  it  was  not  difficult  to  turn  the  heart  of  the  young 
teacher  towards  the  western  land.  When  he  was  twenty- 
two  years  of  age,  after  having  established  Hiawasse  High 
School  upon  an  enduring  foundation,  he  bade  good-bye  to 
the  sights  and  scenes  where  he  had  known  both  trials  and 
triumphs  and  sped  away  to  Texas. 

In  1889  the  writer  of  this  sketch  resigned  the  position 
of  financial  secretary  of  Baylor  University  at  Waco  to  ac- 
cept, what  seemed  to  him,  the  larger  work  of  Superin- 
tendent of  all  the  Texas  Baptist  Mission  work.  Upon  his 
resignation  the  trustees  of  Baylor  University  were  much 
at  sea  to  find  one  who  could  successfully  cake  up  the  work 


LIFE  SKETCH  OF  GEORGE  W.  TRUETT  11 

that  the  former  secretary  had  voluntarily  laid  down.  It 
was  at  about  this  time  that  a  letter  came  to  B.  H.  Carroll, 
then  and  for  years  before  and  afterwards  president  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees,  in  which  the  statement  was  made  that 
there  was  a  young  man  at  Whitewright,  George  W.  Truett 
by  name,  whom  the  writer  believed  (and  the  writer  was 
R.  F.  Jenkins,  one  of  the  best  loved  Baptist  pastors  Texas 
has  ever  known)  would  make  an  ideal  financial  secretary 
for  our  Waco  School. 

One  sentence  in  the  letter  was  very  impressive.  He 
said,  *♦  There  is  one  thing  I  do  know  about  George  W. 
Truett — wherever  he  speaks  the  people  do  what  he  asks 
them  to  do."  The  result  of  this  correspondence  was  that 
t)r.  Carroll  asked  the  young  Whitewright  preacher  to  meet 
him  at  a  missionary  mass-meeting  which  was  held  at 
McKinney  in  January,  1891.  The  result  was  that  George 
W.  Truett  was  unanimously  elected  to  this  work ;  he  ac- 
cepted it,  moved  to  Waco,  and  entered  upon  the  task,  and 
before  two  years  had  passed  more  than  $92,000  (a  very 
large  sum  then),  needed  for  the  emancipation  of  Baylor 
University,  had  been  raised,  and  the  school  was  free. 
During  those  trying  months  the  young  preacher  had  the 
cooperation  and  help  of  B.  H.  Carroll,  than  whom  there 
has  never  been  a  more  loyal,  loving,  patient,  sincere 
co-laborer  and  friend. 

It  was  an  epochal  hour  when  Baylor  was  thus  freed  from 
debt.  The  successful  financial  secretary  at  once  entered 
Baylor  University  as  a  student,  and  continued  his  studies 
there  until  in  1897  he  was  graduated  with  high  honors. 
In  the  meantime  he  accepted  the  call  to  the  pastorate  of 
the  East  Waco  Baptist  Church.  At  that  time  this  fraternity 
was  worshipping  in  an  antiquated  old-time  meeting-house 
which  in  every  way  had  been  long  out  of  date. 


12  LIFE  SKETCH  OF  GEOEGE  W.  TEUETT 

George  W.  Truett  has  never  been  able  to  work  under 
any  kind  of  restraint.  He  could  no  more  continue  to 
preach  in  that  old  house  than  the  eagle  could  be  confined 
to  the  cage  of  the  humming-bird.  He  at  once  set  about 
the  erection  of  a  new,  commodious  and  modern  house  of 
v/orship,  with  the  result  that  the  house  was  built  and  dedi- 
cated free  of  debt.  During  these  years  he  was  married  to  V^ 
Miss  Josephine  Jenkins,  the  much-loved  daughter  of  Judge 
and  Mrs.  W.  H.  Jenkins  of  Waco. 

In   the  early  part  of  1897  C.  L.  Seasholes  resigned  as    "» 
pastor  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  at  Dallas.     This  writer    f 
was  then  editor  of  T/ie  Baptist  Standard.     He  was  asked 
by  Col.  W.  L.  Williams,  senior  deacon  of  the  First  Baptist 
Church  at  Dallas,  to  suggest  to  him  and  through  him  to 
the  church  an  appropriate  man  to  fill  their  vacant  pastor-^ 
ate.     He  named  George  W.  Truett.     He  was  quite  young  J 
— less  than  thirty  years  of  age.     In  a  large  measure  he  was 
untried,  but  the  Holy  Spirit  led  this  noble  fraternity  to 
call  him  as  their  pastor.     After  prayer  and  deliberation,  he 
came  and  cast  his  lot  among  them.     In  September  of  1897 
he  officially  took  charge  of  the  work,  which  place  he  has 
since  filled  and  which  pastorate  his  loving  flock  hope  he 
will  fill  to  the  last  day  of  his  earthly  life. 

His  work  as  pastor  and  preacher  has  been  a  successions"^ 
of  triumphs.  To-day  the  First  Baptist  Church  of  Dallas  is 
the  foremost  contributing  church  in  the  bounds  of  the 
Southern  Baptist  Convention.  It  has  not  only  led  Texas 
— it  has  led  the  whole  South,  and,  conditions  considered, 
has  led  the  entire  United  States,  thus  verifying  that  Scrip- 
ture axiom,  "Like  people,  like  priest."  With  a  member- 
ship of  2,378,  with  a  Sunday-school  having  an  enrollment 
of  between  three  and  four  thousand  pupils,  with  aggregate 
contributions  last  year  of  almost  ;^  100, 000,  with  conversions 


LIFE  SKETCH  OF  GEOEGE  W.  TRUETT  13 

and  baptisms  at  practically  every  service,  with  a  spirit  of 
devotion  and  service  known  near  and  far,  this  church, 
under  the  leadership  of  their  beloved  pastor,  is  pressing 
on,  conquering  and  to  conquer. 

Soon  after  George  W.  Truett's  graduation  from  Baylor 
University,  its  Board  of  Trustees,  with  a  unanimous  and 
hearty  vote,  elected  him  to  the  presidency  of  that  institu- 
tion. In  this  election  the  alumni,  the  faculty  and  the 
student  body  heartily  joined,  and  if  there  was  ever  pressure 
brought  to  bear  upon  a  young  man,  recently  installed  in  a 
useful  pastorate,  to  relinquish  his  charge  and  enter  upon  a 
career  of  great  usefulness  in  educational  leadership,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  felt  such  pressure.  The  final  battle 
was  fought  out  by  the  young  pastor  on  his  knees,  with  the 
result  that  his  shepherd  heart  clave  to  his  flock,  where  it 
yet  abides. 

This  is  not  the  only  call  our  friend  has  had  to  leave 
Dallas.  Calls  have  come  from  almost  every  great  city  in 
every  state  and  also  from  countless  organizations  and  fra- 
ternities. If  the  amount  of  salary  had  ever  been  an  object 
he  certainly  would  have  been  sorely  tempted  to  leave  the 
western  land  and  plunge  into  the  glare  and  glamour  of 
some  northern  or  eastern  metropolis. 

The  decision  of  this  pastor  to  remain  with  this  flock  has 
been  amply  vindicated.  A  few  years  ago,  in  response  to  a 
crying  need  for  more  room,  the  church  building  was  en- 
larged to  practically  three  times  its  former  seating  capacity, 
and  even  thus  early  it  is  found  yet  to  be  too  small.  On 
some  Lord's  Day  occasions  the  seating  capacity  of  the  new 
building  is  severely  taxed. 

As  the  years  have  passed  and  as  the  fame  of  George  W. 
Truett  has  grown  and  broadened,  the  calls  upon  his  time 
and  service  have  become  vastly  multiplied.     It  is  not  aJ. 


14  LIFE  SKETCH  OF  GEORGE  W.  TEUETT 

ways  that  he  goes  to  the  large  and  more  fruitful  fields. 
Recently  he  went  out  to  a  country  place,  and  there  for  al- 
most two  weeks  preached  with  all  the  fervor  with  which  he 
preached  when  holding  a  meeting  in  the  city  of  New  York. 
Many  of  the  country  folk  were  led  to  Christ  and  the 
church  and  cause  were  greatly  strengthened. 

It  was  an  interested  and  interesting  group  of  his  friends 
and  brethren  who  met  together  a  little  more  than  two  years 
ago  to  devise  a  plan  for  giving  their  pastor  a  home.  It 
was  promptly  provided.  It  is  not  in  the  nature  of  a  par- 
sonage or  a  pastorium,  but  was  built  and  given  in  fee  sim- 
ple to  the  pastor  and  his  wife.  His  membership  well  knew 
that  he  would  never  have  a  home  in  any  other  way.  They 
rejoice  that  he  has  this  home  among  them,  and  it  is  their 
cherished  hope  and  wish  that  he  will  occupy  this  home  as 
their  pastor  until  his  life's  day  is  done. 

The  question  is  constantly  arising,  "  What  of  this  man  ?  ' ' 
The  writer  hereof  is  allowing  this  answer  to  be  made  by 
another  pen,  but  from  his  own  personal  knowledge  he  es- 
says a  modest  answer  to  the  query  on  his  own  account. 
The  man  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  it  has  ever  been 
my  privilege  to  know.  For  liberality  of  spirit,  self-sacri- 
fice, gentleness  of  heart,  purity  of  character  and  life,  sym- 
pathy, helpfulness,  liberality  and  love,  this  writer  does  not 
believe  George  W.  Truett  has  any  superior,  and  he  has  few 
if  any  peers.  He  has  a  heart  for  all  humanity.  He  is 
absolutely  innocuous  to  the  blandishments  of  flattery  or 
wealth. 

It  is  no  wonder,  therefore,  that  here  in  Dallas  where  he 
has  spent  a  longer  period  of  his  life  than  at  any  other  place 
except  at  the  home  of  his  boyhood,  he  is  universally  be- 
loved. He  IS  called  to  more  houses  of  mourning,  conducts 
more  funerals,  consoles  more  of  the  bereaved,  is  the  reposi- 


LIFE  SKETCH  OF  GEOEGE  W.  TRUETT  15 

tory  of  more  confidences  of  the  tempest-tossed,  the  heart- 
broken and  distraught  than  perhaps  any  man  in  this  broad 
land.  Not  only  is  he  universally  beloved  in  Dallas,  where 
he  is  best  known,  but  throughout  all  Texas  his  name  and 
self-sacrificing  deeds  are  almost  a  household  word. 

He  has  often  given  down  to  his  last  penny,  and  then 
borrowed  more  money  at  the  bank  to  give  away.  He  is 
always  hard  pressed  and  will  be  to  the  end  of  his  earthly 
life.  The  other  day  the  writer  of  this  sketch,  when  speak- 
ing to  him,  told  him  of  a  gift  a  mutual  friend  had  made  to 
a  bereaved  home  in  order  to  help  defray  the  funeral  ex- 
penses. The  pastor,  with  those  searching  eyes  turned  upon 
the  writer,  said  :  "  That  is  what  money  is  for,  and  that  is 
all  it  is  for." 

His  work  seems  but  just  begun.  He  is  now  in  the  flood- 
tide  of  his  greatest  usefulness  and  power.  He  has  not 
yet  reached  the  half-century  mark,  and  it  is  not  too  much 
to  hope  that  before  his  earthly  days  shall  end  he  will 
achieve  new  heights  of  usefulness  of  which  now  we  scarcely 
dare  to  dream. 

Dallas,  Tixas. 


George  W.  Truett,  the  Man  and  Preacher 

By  Rev,  John  E.  White,  D,  D, 

(The  following  character  sketch  was  written  some  years  since  when 
Dr.  Truett  held  a  meeting  with  Dr.  White,  who  was  then  pastor  o* 
the  Second  Baptist  Church,  Atlanta,  Ga.) 

IN  the  gallery  of  the  South' s  strong  men — men  who 
are  at  the  front  of  moral  leadership  in  her  marvelous 
progress,  the  picture  of  George  W.  Truett  would  not 
lack  much  of  the  foremost  place  were  the  vote  left  to  the 
admiration  of  the  more  than  two  million  white  Baptists  of 
the  Southern  Baptist  Convention. 

The  coming  of  this  Texanic-Carolina-Georgian  to  preach 
in  the  Second  Baptist  Church,  Atlanta,  during  the  Con- 
certed Baptist  Evangelistic  Campaign  is  therefore  an  event 
of  more  than  ordinary  interest. 

Call  him  "Texanic,"  because  he  comes  from  Texas  and 
brings  the  Texan  breadth  and  sweep  atmospherically  with 
him:  Texanic  being  something  better  than  titanic,  more 
pervasive,  more  comprehensive  of  a  certain  great  quality 
that  encircles  men  who  come  within  George  Truett' s  area. 

Call  him  ''Carolina,"  because  he  sprang  out  of  the 
rough,  mountainous  territory  of  the  Old  North  State,  drew 
his  breath  from  its  hills,  received  its  birthmark  on  his 
spirit.  It  is  a  rude,  rough  country,  but  its  crops  are  men. 
Think  of  hardest,  stubbornnest  land,  the  simplest,  most 
backward  section  of  modern  American  life — untouched  by 
railroads,  not  a  half-dozen  jcomfortable  churches,  less  than 

16 


THE  MAN  AND  PEEACHER  17 

seventy  days'  annual  free  school  term,  supported  out  of 
less  than  one  dollar  per  capita  free  school  funds  and  yet 
the  land  of  red  blood  and  new  brain  cells,  and  you  have 
Clay  County,  North  Carolina,  as  George  Truett  knew  it  in 
his  youth. 

He  was  born  near  the  county  site,  Hayesville,  in  the 
year  1867. 

Call  him  also  "Georgian,"  because  Georgia  gave  him 
his  growing  pains — perhaps  his  initial  thrust  forward.  It 
was  in  1889,  in  the  court-house  at  Marietta,  Ga.,  that  his 
star  first  scintillated  strikingly.  The  scene  is  worthy  a 
picture  in  the  Baptist  valhalla. 

The  Georgia  Baptist  Convention  was  in  session.  Ferd  C. 
McConnell,  not  yet  himself  known  to  fame  as  "Forensic 
Cyclone  McConnell,"  the  present  distinguished  leader  of 
Atlanta,  Ga.,  was  down  from  the  mountains  of  Rabun 
County  with  the  story  of  the  struggle  for  the  mountain 
boys  and  girls  at  Hiawasse. 

<'  They  are  there,"  he  shouted,  **  like  gold  for  the  touch 
of  the  miner's  pick  and  they  are  fit  to  stand  in  the  presence 
of  kings,  packed  full  of  brains  and  character  waiting  for 
a  chance.  If  you  don't  believe  it  I'll  show  you  !  George  ! 
Where  is  George  Truett?"  George  not  being  forthcom- 
ing immediately  the  orator  called  again,  "Brethren,  I  do 
believe  he's  got  skeered  and  run  off."  Then  some  one  in 
the  rear  of  the  court-house  said,  "  Here  he  is."  A  pale, 
twenty-two-year-old  mountain  youth  was  forced  out  in  the 
aisle  and  obediently  up  to  the  prisoners*  dock,  looking 
half- frightened  and  vastly  embarrassed  by  the  focus  of 
eyes.  "  Brethren,  this  is  George  Truett  and  he  can  speak 
like  Spurgeon.  George,  tell  them  what  the  Lord  has  done 
for  you  and  what  you  are  trying  to  do  up  in  the  mountains." 

Then  George  began.     It  was  a  simple  story,  but  epic  in 


18  THE  MAN  AND  PEEACHEB 

its  pathos  of  quiet  recital  of  the  hopes  and  passions  of  an 
unsung  heroism. 

It  was  a  story  of  struggle  for  the  lives  of  others  who 
might  have  what  had  been  denied  to  him — a  college  edu- 
cation. It  grew  larger  with  each  word — till  every  heart 
was  thrilling  with  that  plaintive,  pleading  sort  of  voice 
which  carries  so  well  the  burden  of  tears  which  seem  ever 
laid  on  it.  But  the  speech  was  no  pitiful  plea  of  poverty — 
who  ever  heard  that  out  of  a  Southern  mountaineer?  It 
was  rather  the  cry  of  the  youth  who  bore  the  banner  with 
the  strange  device — Excelsior,  the  strong  persuasion  of  a 
just  matter,  the  logic  of  one  who,  denied  himself,  was  re- 
solved to  let  his  lack  plead  for  others. 

Dr.  J.  B.  Hawthorne,  then  at  the  crowning  of  his  great 
career  in  Atlanta,  was  one  of  those  who  sat  heart-broken 
under  the  mastery  of  that  speech.    This  was  his  testimony  : 

"  I  have  heard  Henry  Grady  at  his  highest,  but  never  in 
my  life  has  my  soul  been  so  swept  as  that  boy  from  the 
mountains  swept  it  that  day  in  the  court-house  in  Marietta.'* 

Another  great  Georgian  was  present  on  that  occasion — 
Calder  B.  Willingham,  of  Macon.  He  at  once  arose  and 
said :  "I  want  the  honor  of  giving  that  young  man  a  col- 
lege education.  If  he  will  come  to  Macon  I  will  pay  his 
expenses  at  Mercer  University  till  he  graduates."  Then 
and  there  the  compact  was  sealed,  the  convention  being 
witness.  The  youth  went  back  to  the  mountains  with 
something  to  say  to  his  old  friends — the  peaks  of  Rabun 
and  the  clouds  and  the  God  he  knew  face  to  face  behind 
great  nature's  thin  veil,  of  a  new  hope  and  a  great  joy  set 
before  him. 

Strange  is  Providence  !  The  path  of  George  Truett's 
life  did  not  lie  towards  Macon.  He  never  saw  Mercer 
University  and  yet  I  think  till  this  day  he  regards  himself 


THE  MAN  AND  PEEACHER  19 

as  a  sort  of  alumnus  of  Mercer  University,  as  one  of  those 
shadowy  sons  who  dreamed  their  course  through  her 
halls. 

With  September,  1889,  no  boy,  but  a  letter,  went  to  Mr. 
Willingham.  His  father  had  resolved  upon  Texas.  A 
man  in  years,  but  a  son  in  loyalty,  went  with  that  resolve 
out  of  the  mountains  of  North  Georgia  to  the  great  new 
land  as  blindly  in  sheer  obedience,  and  I  doubt  not  as 
faithfully  as  Abraham  went  into  Canaan.  Now,  what  will 
the  prophets  say  of  this  ?  Listen :  That  boy  will  go  to 
Texas ;  in  less  than  four  years  he  will  save  a  college  from 
financial  despair  and  endow  it ;  in  four  years  more  he 
will  graduate  from  it,  and  in  five  years  more  he  will  be 
elected  to  its  presidency.  Well,  that  is  what  George  W. 
Truett  did  in  Texas. 

But  he  is  not  the  president  of  Baylor  University.  This 
is  a  very  interesting  fact  to  us  just  now  in  Atlanta.  He  is 
a  preacher.  Dear  old  bill -boarded,  newspapered,  sensa- 
tion-surfeited Atlanta;  agog  yesterday  over  Elbert  Hub- 
bard and  to-day  over  Fluffy  Raffles,  but  she  has  one  sav- 
ing clause  :  She  loves  a  preacher  if  he  is  a  real  preacher. 
George  Truett  will  win  Atlanta  wholesomely.  He  will  win 
here  as  he  wins  in  the  West  by  being  what  he  is,  a  man  who 
means  it  without  trying  to.  What  he  is  speaks  as  loud  as 
what  he  says.  He  is  a  preacher.  That  is  the  point  of  his 
distinction.  He  is  content  to  be  that.  He  is  an  evangel, 
not  evangelist.  There  is  not  an  "ist"  nor  a  twist  in  all 
his  make-up.  Plain,  mountain-hearted,  love-torn  George 
Truett,  the  man  who  woos  cowboys  in  Texas  to  their 
knees,  wins  cities  also. 

People  will  come  from  hearing  him  preach  in  the  Second 
Baptist  Church  asking  themselves  what  it  is  that  constitutes 
the  acknowledged  power  of  his  preaching.     And  they  will 


20  THE  MAN  AND  PREACHER 

get  various  answers,  but  in  one  all  opinion  will  meet.  It 
is  something  in  the  man  himself — the  man  behind  the  ser- 
mon, and  in  it  through  and  through  as  an  incarnation  of 
truthfulness  in  a  messenger.  Many  sermons  will  bear  un- 
derstanding and  yield  to  analysis  their  secret  of  charm  as 
sermons.  I  doubt  if  the  newspapers  were  ever  meant  for 
George  Truett,  though  many  of  his  sermons  have  been  re- 
ported in  full.  He  belongs  preeminently  to  that  class  of 
preachers  who  illustrate  the  claim  that  the  press  can  never 
usurp  the  function  of  the  pulpit ;  who  convince  us  that 
preaching  is  in  the  highest  sense  an  incarnation,  something 
more  than  a  report  of  the  truth,  something  more  than  the 
proclamation  of  the  Gospel. 

George  Whitfield  could  so  speak  the  most  commonplace 
words  as  to  send  chills  through  his  audience.  George 
Truett  has  much  of  this  power  to  communicate  to  men  his 
soul  on  the  most  ordinary  vehicles  of  thought  and  language. 
His  adjectives  and  adverbs  take  on  its  spiritual  quality  as 
the  dull  black  wire  takes  on  the  electric  current. 

Electricity,  however,  is  scarcely  a  fortunate  figure.  He 
is  least  of  all  of  the  spectacular  type.  There  is  nothing 
angular  or  irregular  in  him.  He  has  none  of  the  person- 
ality run  to  seed — individualism  on  a  pious  spree.  The 
strongest  personalities  are  not  eccentric.  Eccentricity  is 
unnecessary  to  such  men.  They  have  specific  gravity  be- 
yond the  need  of  peculiar  advertisement.  Too  much  of 
what  men  call  personality  in  the  pulpit,  in  the  view  that 
preaching  is  an  incarnation,  must  hinder  rather  than  help 
the  Gospel  purpose.  Is  it  possible  that  evangelism,  which, 
reduced  to  the  terms  of  psychology,  is  egotism,  can  be  the 
appointed  power  of  God  unto  salvation  ?  At  least  George 
W.  Truett's  power,  as  a  preacher,  can  have  no  such  ex- 
planation.    "Heart  power"  is  the  phrase  most  often  em- 


THE  MAN  AND  PREACHER  21 

ployed  to  explain  him.     Ask  somebody  what  they  mean  by 
that.     It  is  not  as  easy  as  it  seems. 

With  George  Truett  before  my  mind's  eye — "heart 
power"  is  just  what  seems  to  me  the  only  vital  power  of 
the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Translated  into  the  visible,  audible,  realizable  fact  soon 
to  stand  in  the  pulpit  of  the  Second  Baptist  Church, 
"  heart  power  "  is  this  : 

A  man  of  substantial  flesh,  enough  to  be  a  man  of  like 
passions  with  other  men ;  an  open  Saxon  face — a  serious 
face,  some  say  a  sad  face. 

A  voice  set  to  a  very  pronounced  key  of  pathos — a 
cadence  that  individualizes  his  speech.  Alas,  for  those 
who  attempt  to  pilfer  it !  An  impression  of  unfeigned 
sympathy,  as  of  a  man  who  has  suffered,  and  whose  pain, 
whatever  it  be,  has  become  lost  in  a  larger  pain,  through 
exchange  of  all  personal  life  sorrows  for  the  great  human 
sorrow  everywhere. 

In  declining  the  presidency  of  Baylor  University  he  said 
simply  in  explanation  :  *'  I  have  sought  and  found  the 
shepherd's  heart."  Perhaps  this  is  the  real  secret  of  George 
W.  Truett' s  unique  place  in  Texas  and  among  the  South- 
ern  Baptists. 

Many  lips  have  quoted  the  great  avowal  which  F.  W. 
D.  Meyer  puts  into  the  mouth  of  Paul  the  Apostle,  but 
none  whom  I  know  can  appropriate  it  more  seriously  than 
George  W.  Truett,  when  he  stands  up  before  a  congrega- 
tion of  his  fellow  men  to  preach  the  Gospel  that  saves. 


"  Oft  when  the  word  is  on  me  to  deliver, 
Lifts  the  illusion  and  the  truth  lies  bare. 
Desert  or  throng,  the  city  or  the  river 
Melts  in  a  lucid  tjaradise  of  air. 


22  THE  MAN  AND  PBBACHEB 

"  Only  like  souls  I  see  the  folk  thereunder 

Bound  who  should  conquer,  slaves  who  should 
be  kings ; 
Hearing  their  one  hope  with  an  empty  wonder, 
Sadly  contented  in  a  show  of  things. 

'*  Then  with  a  rush  the  intolerable  craving 
Shivers  throughout  me  like  a  trumpet  call. 
Oh,  to  save  these,  to  perish  for  their  saving, 
Die  for  their  life.  He  offered  for  them  all." 


We  Would  See  Jesus 

Teoct :  ^^  We  would  see  Jesus." — John  xii.  21. 

THE  age-long  cry  of  the  human  race  has  been^j  •< 
for  the  revelation  of  a  personal  God,  able 
and  willing  to  forgive  human  sin,  and  to 
give  rest  to  the  human  conscience.  From  the  days  of 
Job,  man's  cry  has  been  :  "Oh,  that  I  knew  where  I 
might  find  Him  !''  Plato  voiced  such  cry  when  he 
said:  '^  We  look  for  a  God,  or  a  God-inspired  man, 
who  will  show  us  our  duty  and  take  away  the  dark 
ness  from  our  eyes."  Through  long  generations  oi 
Jewish  history  there  thrilled  the  longing,  and  was 
voiced  the  prophetic  hope  of  a  coming  Messiah,  able 
and  willing  to  meet  man's  deepest  needs.  In  the 
fullness  of  time  He  came,  and  the  fame  of  His  words 
and  deeds  soon  filled  the  land.  A  great  feast  was 
had  in  Jerusalem,  and  along  with  the  thousands  who 
attended  it  there  came  some  Greeks,  whose  cry  also 
was:  "We  would  see  Jesus."  That  was  the  first 
voice  from  the  outside  world  that  gave  a  hint  of  the 
awakening  of  its  sleeping  conscience  to  the  fact  that 
Jesus  was  to  be  the  Saviour  and  Sovereign  over  the 
Gentile  as  well  as  the  Jewish  world. 

Marvelous  was  the  impression  made  upon  Jesus  by 
that  outside  cry.     It  came  at  an  hour  when  His  work 

23 


24  WE  WOULD  SEE  JESUS 

seemed  ready  to  fail ;  but  from,  that  hour  there  was  a 
new  tone  of  triumph  in  His  words.  No  more  do  we 
hear  His  plaintive  cry  over  unbelieving  Jerusalem  ; 
but  His  thoughts  are  bravely  turned  towards  Calvary, 
and  His  victorious  shout  is  :  '  ^  The  hour  is  come  that 
the  Son  of  Man  should  be  glorified.  Verily,  verily,  I 
say  unto  you,  except  a  corn  of  wheat  fall  into  the 
ground  and  die,  it  abideth  alone  ;  but  if  it  die,  it 
bringeth  forth  much  fruit. '^  He  speaks  again  : 
''Now  is  my  soul  troubled;  and  what  shall  I  say? 
Father,  save  Me  from  this  hour :  but  for  this  cause 
came  I  unto  this  hour.  Father,  glorify  Thy  name. 
Then  came  there  a  voice  from  heaven,  saying,  '  I  have 
glorified  it  and  will  glorify  it  again. '  "  His  heart 
thrills  with  the  sense  of  His  glorious  mission,  and  He 
speaks  again  :  "Now  is  the  judgment  of  this  world  ; 
now  shall  the  prince  of  this  world  be  cast  out.  And 
J ,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth,  will  draw  all  men 
unto  Me." 

'[  Why  would  we  see  Jesus  ?  We  may  well  wish  to 
sae  Him,  because  of  what  He  was  and  is  in  His  own 
personality.  He  was  both  God  and  man,  the  God- 
man,  in  one  person.  Never  did  hyphen  elsewhere 
mean  so  much  as  here,  the  God-man.  It  both  joins 
and  divides.  It  marks  distinction  and  yet  unity. 
Jesus  was  as  really  God  as  though  He  were  never  man, 
and  as  really  man  as  though  He  were  never  God. 
In  the  face  of  this  truth,  well  might  the  chief  apostle 
say  :  "  Without  controversy,  great  is  the  mystery  of 
godliness  :  God  was  manifest  in  the  flesh,  justified  in 
the  Spirit,  seen  of  angels,  preached  unto  the  Gentiles, 
believed  on  in  the  world,  received  up  into  glory. '^ 
The  most  stupendous  truth  ever  submitted  to  human 


WE  WOULD  SEE  JESUS  25 

thought  is  that  stated  in  John's  five  simple  words : 
^* The  Word  was  made  flesh." 

In  the  study  of  Jesus  we  need  always  to  begin  with 
His  humanity.  That  is  where  the  early  disciples  be- 
gan, and  that  is  the  rational  order.  A  proper  con- 
ception of  His  humanity  must  be  the  basis  for  a 
proper  understanding  of  His  Divine  nature  and  work. 

In  these  days  men  sometimes  tell  us  of  their  diffi- 
culties concerning  the  deity  of  Jesus,  rather  than  His 
humanity.  In  the  earlier  days,  unbelief  made  its 
stoutest  assaults  upon  His  humanity.  The  earlier 
heresies  were  gnostic  heresies  that  denied  that  Jesus 
was  really  a  man.  One  school  of  gnostics  held  that 
the  body  of  Jesus  did  not  belong  essentially  to  His 
nature,  but  that  the  Messiah  descended  upon  Jesus  at 
His  baptism,  and  left  Him  before  His  death.  Another 
school  held  that  His  body  was  but  a  mere  illusion, 
a  veneer  of  human  nature,  wjtl)  Godhood  hidden 
behind  the  face  of  a  man.  And  still  another  school 
held  that  His  body  was  a  body  from  heaven,  having 
nothing  in  common  with  earth. 

Against  all  such  theories  the  title  which  Jesus 
chose  for  Himself  attests  His  true  and  real  humanity. 
''He  took  not  on  Him  the  form  of  angels ;  but  He 
took  on  Him  the  seed  of  Abraham.".  He  was  a  vital 
part  of  the  race  that  He  came  to  save,  bone  of  its 
bone  and  flesh  of  its  flesh.  He  had  a  human  mother 
and  a  human  birth.  He  grew,  as  did  others,  in 
wisdom  and  in  stature.  His  feelings  and  needs  were 
as  those  of  other  men.  He  was  weary  and  hungry 
and  thirsty.  He  craved  human  companionship  and 
sympathy.  He  was  *'a  man  of  sorrows  and  ac- 
quainted with  grief."     '' Wherefore,  in  all  things,  it 


26  WE  WOULD  SEE  JESUS 

behooved  Him  to  be  made  like  unto  His  brethren, 
that  He  might  be  a  merciful  and  faithful  High  Priest, 
in  all  things  pertaining  to  God  to  make  reconcilia- 
tion for  the  sins  of  the  people. " 

Behold  Him,  not  ^^  A  Son  of  Man,"  but  ^^The  Son 
of  Man,"  for  all  humanity  was  summed  up  in  Him. 
He  was  the  one  perfect,  ideal,  complete  man^ 
^ '  Which  of  you  convinceth  Me  of  sin  ?  ' '  was  and  is 
His  fearless  challenge.  ''I  find  no  fault  in  Him" 
was  and  is  the  universal  testimony  of  His  friends  and 
foes.  \In  Himself  Jesus  combines  all  those  gracious 
qualities  that  abode  severally  in  His  people.  If  we 
would  look  for  the  highest  example  of  meekness,  we 
would  not  look  to  Moses,  but  to  Jesus,  who  was  un- 
approachably meek  and  lowly  in  heart.  For  the 
highest  exami)le  of  patience  we  would  not  look  to 
Job,  but  to  Jesus,  who,  when  He  was  reviled,  reviled 
not  again.  For  the  highest  example  of  wisdom  we 
would  not  look  to  Solomon,  but  to  Jesus,  who  spake 
as  never  man  spake.  For  the  highest  example  of  con- 
suming pity  we  would  not  look  to  weeping  Jeremiah, 
but  to  Jesus,  as  alone  He  weeps  over  Jerusalem.  For 
the  highest  example  of  soul -absorbing  zeal  we  would 
not  look  to  Paul,  but  to  Jesus,  of  whom  it  was  said  : 
"The  zeal  of  thine  house  hath  eaten  me  up."  For 
the  highest  example  of  love  we  would  not  look  to 
John,  but  to  Jesus,  who,  while  we  were  His  enemies, 
loved  us  and  gave  Himself  for  uso  ^^1  other  men 
have  but  fragmentary  goodness  ana  greatness  ;  that 
of  Jesus  is  complete,  perfect,  wanting  nothing.  The 
search-light  of  criticism  has  been  focused  on  Jesus 
through  the  long  centuries,  and  yet  it  has  failed  to 
find  in  Him  one  suggestion  of  sin,   one  ill -spoken 


WE  WOULD  SEE  JESUS  27 

word,  oue  selfish  deed.     Men  talk  about  not  believ- 
ing in  miracles.     What  will  they  do  with  Jesus  of  ^ 
Nazareth  ?    He  is  the  preeminent  miracle  of  all  the 
ages.      Who  was  that  one  and  only  perfect  man?_ 
Was  He  not  more  than  a  man  ? 

The  only  rational  solution  of  the  humanity  of 
Jesus  is  the  acknowledgment  of  His  Deity.  For 
men  to  laud  Jesus  as  a  great  and  good  man,  while 
they  repudiate  His  Deity,  is  to  involve  themselves 
in  logical  contradictions  and  moral  inconsistencies 
which  it  is  impossible  either  to  reconcile  or  under- 
stand. Remember  the  claims  that  this  wise  and  holy 
One  makes  for  Himself:  *'I  am  the  light  of  the 
world."  ^*]^o  man  cometh  unto  the  Father  but 
by  Me."  ^^He  that  hath  seen  Me  hath  seen  the 
Father."  *^I  and  the  Father  are  one."  ^'Come 
unto  Me,  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden  and 
I  will  give  you  rest."  If  Jesus  Christ  be  not  more 
than  a  man,  what  must  be  thought  of  the  presump- 
tion and  vanity  of  these  mighty  claims?  How  is  it 
that  man's  conscience  accepts  without  protest  or 
hesitancy  these  mighty  claims?  That  question 
must  forever  remain  an  insoluble  mystery  on  any 
other  premise  than  that  Jesus  was  God  manifest  in 
the  flesh,  in  whom  dwells  all  the  fullness  of  the  God- 
head bodily.  From  His  cradle  to  His  grave  the 
proofs  of  His  Godhead  were,  in  His  own  person, 
finding  constant  illustration.  The  shepherds  came 
to  salute  Him  as  king,  and  the  magi,  with  their  rich 
gifts,  came  from  the  Far  East  to  worship  Him,  while 
He  was  yet  a  tiny  babe  upon  His  mother^ s  heart 
While  a  lad  only  twelve  years  of  age,  His  superla- 
tive wisdom  utterly  astounded  the  learned  doctors 


28  WE  WOULD  SEE  JESUS 

in  the  temple.  As  a  young  man  he  patiently 
wrought  at  the  workman's  bench,  teaching  us  how 
the  Infinite  One  can  calmly  wait,  girt  with  the  con- 

iSciousness  of  His  divine  mission.  When  He  came  to 
prosecute  His  public  ministry  He  had  only  to  speak  the 

,  word  and  the  winds  were  hushed,  the  storms  calmed, 

'  the  hungry  thousands  fed,  the  sick  made  well  and  the 
dead  brought  back  to  life.    He  lived  as  none  other  ever 

.lived.  He  died  as  none  other  ever  died,  and  from 
Olivet  He  went  back  to  His  Father  the  cousummator 
of  history,  the  victorious  Saviour  of  a  lost  world. 
^  **We  would  see  Jesus,"  not  only  because  of  what 
He  is  in  His  matchless  person,  but,  also,  because  of 
what  He  is  and  does  for  man.  He  is  man's  Saviour 
from  sin.     "  Thou  shalt  call  His  name  Jesus,  for  He 

'  shall  save  His  people  from  their  sins."  If  Jesus 
were    merely  a    perfect    example    or    a    matchless 

j  teacher  for  man,  then  He  could  not  encompass 
man's  deepest  needs.  ^Sin  is  the  terrible  tragedy, 
the  intolerable  yoke  in  every  human  life.     Our  high- 

!  est  and  eternal  joy  in  seeing  Jesus  is  in  seeing  Him 
as  our  Saviour  from  sin.  By  His  expiatory  death  on 
the  cross,  *'the  just  for  the  unjust,"  Jesus  answers 
the  eternally  vital  question  how  a  guilty  sinner  may 
have  forgiveness  and  salvation  and  happiness  here 
and  forevermore. 

Forever  God,  forever  man. 

My  Jesus  shall  endure  : 

And  fixed  on  Him  my  hope  remains 

Eternally  secure. 

It  was  said  of  Mozart  that  he  brought  angels  down, 
and  of  Beethoven  that  he  lifted  mortals  up.     Jesus 


WE  WOULD  SEE  JESUS  29 

does  both  aud  more.  He  is  God's  way  to  mau,  He  is 
mau's  way  to  God,  the  true  Jacob's  ladder  between 
earth  and  heaven. 

And  the  glorious  truth  is  that  His  Gospel  may  be 
put  into  the  ci;ucible  of  human  experience.  Man 
may  personally  know  whether  Jesus  can  give  peace 
to  the  troubled  conscience,  whether  He  can  give  light 
for  life's  bedarkened  problems,  whether  He  can  give 
healing  for  earth's  staggering  sorrows.  The  world  is 
filled  with  men  and  women,  this  houy^  who  have 
vainly  sought  everywhere  for  peace  and  light  and 
help,  but  they  found  it  not  until  they  found  it  iu 
Jesus,  Tlxese  men  and  women  have  tested  Him,  and 
in  their  deepest  consciousness  they  know  better  than 
they  know  anything  else  that  through  Him  their 
darkness  has  been  dispelled,  their  burdens  lifted, 
their  victories  won.  Tell  me  how  it  is  that,  of  all 
the  sons  of  men  since  the  world  began,  it  was  never 
heard  that  a  man  was  saved  by  Plato,  or  by  Socrates, 
or  by  any  one  else  but  by  Jesus  Christ  alone.  How 
is  it  that  He  alone  has  been  able  really  to  redeem 
men  from  the  fatal  grip  of  appetite  and  passion  and 
sin  ?  There  can  be  but  one  logically  intelligent  an- 
swer, and  that  answer  is,  that  in  Jesus  Christ  we 
have  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God,  God  of  God, 
Light  of  Light,  very  God  of  very  God,  the  one 
Divine  and  all-sufQcient  Saviour. 

How  may  we  see  Jesus'?  May  we  see  Jesus  to- 
day ?  Not,  to  be  sure,  with  our  physical  eyes,  but 
with  the  eyes  of  the  mind  and  heart.  May  we  ap- 
proach Him,  realize  Him,  be  conscious  of  His  per- 
sonal presence  and  help,  even  as  we  are  conscious  of 
the  presence  and  help  of  parent,  or  teacher,  or  dear- 


30  WE  WOULD  SEE  JESUS 

est  earthly  friend  ?  These  are  vital  questions  that  go 
to  the  depths  of  our  hearts.  I  make  bold  to  answer 
them  that  Jesus  may  be,  ought  to  be,  more  real  to 
us  than  is  any  other  person  in  all  the  world.  Jesus 
is  not  some  mere  theory,  some  inspiring  memory, 
some  vague,  personal  influence  ;  but  He  is  a  Person, 
to  be  approached,  to  be  felt,  to  be  trusted,  to  be 
loved,  and  to  be  obeyed  even  unto  death.  How  may 
we  thus  see  Jesus  as  we  are  daily  driven  by  the  mani- 
fold problems  and  duties  of  the  earthly  life! 

If  we  would  see  Jesus,  we  must  make  much  of  His 
Book.  If  we  would  know  a  person,  we  must  under- 
stand him.  If  we  would  trust  a  person,  then  our 
trust  must  be  based  on  knowledge.  Jesus  cannot  be 
seen,  will  not  be  graciously  real  to  the  man  who 
neglects  the  Bible.  It  is  true  that  *Hhe  heavens  de- 
clare the  glory  of  God,  and  the  firmament  showeth 
His  handiwork."  But,  left  to  nature,  the  Bible 
taken  away,  man  cannot  know  of  God's  tenderness 
and  love,  cannot  know  how  to  love  and  trust  and 
obey  Him  properly.  Though  man  might  name 
every  star  that  blazes  in  the  eternal  depths ;  though 
he  might  map  the  heavens  and  tell  the  constellations 
as  his  familiar  friends  ;  though  he  might  understand 
the  voice  of  the  flowers  ;  though  he  might  catch  the 
monologues  of  the  mountains,  the  dirges  of  the 
oceans,  the  symphonies  of  the  spheres ;  though  all 
nature  might  speak  to  him  the  mighty  secrets  of  its 
origin  and  Maker,  in  all  this  man  would  see  only 
the  majesty  and  mightiness  of  God.  In  God's  hand 
would  be  the  sword  of  justice,  on  His  lips  the  word 
of  wisdom,  and  around  Him  the  resplendent  robe  of 
righteousness,  at  once  man's  envy  and  despair.    Only 


WE  WOULD  SEE  JESUS  31 

in  the  Bible  may  man  find  out  the  mercy  of  God,  in 
the  forgiveness  of  sins,  through  Jesus  Christ. 

Other  books  may  be  read,  some  of  them  with  much 
profit,  God's  book  must  be  read,  and  read  humbly, 
reverently,  earnestly,  continuously,  if  we  would  see 
much  of  Jesus.  /  If  you  have  read  the  life  of  Chinese 
Gordon,  one  of  the  noblest  Christians  of  his  or  any 
other  age,  you  discerned  that  the  secret  of  that  won- 
derful life  was  in  the  fact  that  he  spent  long  hours 
every  day  in  the  study  of  the  Bible.  He  had  many 
books  in  the  Soudan,  but  this  was  the  testimony  that 
he  left  concerning  them  :  ''I  may  as  well  part  with 
all  my  books  except  two,  the  Bible  and  the  Con- 
cordance, so  far  as  they  contain  essential  knowledge." 

If  we  would  see  Jesus,  we  must  know  much  of 
Becret  prayer — mark  you,  of  secret  prayer.  Secret 
prayer  is  the  unerring  thermometer  to  our  life  of 
prayer.  If  ever  we  are  sincere  in  prayer,  it  is 
when  we  are  in  secret  prayer.  It  is  then,  if  ever, 
that  we  are  conscious  of  God.  Jesus  said,  '^But 
thou,  when  thou  prayest,  enter  into  thy  closet,  and 
when  thou  hast  shut  thy  door,  pray  to  thy  Father 
which  is  in  secret ;  and  thy  Father  which  seeth  in 
secret  shall  reward  thee  openly."  How  much  do 
we  give  ourselves  to  secret  prayer?  Is  it  not  just 
here  that  most  of  all  we  fail?  We  go  about  the 
doing  of  many  things,  but  is  not  secret  prayer  one 
of  the  things  that  we  largely  leave  undone?  It 
takes  time  to  become  spiritual,  and  time  spent  alone 
with  God  is  the  best  spent  time  in  all  one's  life. 

Again,  if  we  would  see  Jesus,  we  must  watch 
against  sin^  ^ith  uncompromising  warfare.^  There 
4iT^*^  be  absolute  sincerity  and  whole-hearted  thor^ 


\€ 


82  WE  WOULD  SEE  JESUS 

qughness  at  this  poiut.  That  were  but  hollo"W 
mockery  for  a  man  to  pray  for  forgiveness,  his  own 
heart  the  while  burning  with  hatred  and  festering 
with  grudges  against  some  fellow  creature.  The 
amputating  knife  of  genuine  repentance  must  be  put 
to  sin,  if  we  would  hope  for  the  smile  of  Jesus  and 
for  the  benefit  of  His  blood  which  cleanseth  from  all 
sin.  God  can't  afford  to  answer  some  men's  prayers  ! 
For  Him  to  do  so  would  be  to  put  a  premium  upon 
gin.  The  hidden  wedge  of  gold  and  the  Babylonish 
garment  must  be  disclosed  and  restored,  if  men  may 
hope  for  answered  prayer.  It  is  sin  that  separates 
l^etweeu  man  and  God.  It  is  sin  that  cuts  the  nerve 
of  ajl  acceptable  prayer.  Sin  is  a  veil  through  which 
Jesus  cannot  be  seen.  Sin  is  an  insulator  that  turns 
away  the  currents  between  man  and  God.  It  is  ''  the 
supplication  of  a  righteous  man  that  availeth  much.'' 
''  If  I  regard  iniquity  in  my  heart,  the  Lord  will  not 
hear  me."  No  man  who  is  not  keenly  sensiti*'©  to 
sin  can  know  much  or  see  much  of  Jesus.  '*  Blessed 
ai-e  the  pure  in  heart,  for  they  shall  see  God" — sea 
Him  here  and  now  in  daily  experience.  ^'  Who  shall 
i  ascend  into  the  hill  of  the  Lord  ?  Or  who  shall  stand 
;  in  His  holy  place  1  He  that  hath  clean  hands  and  a 
i  pure  heart,  who  hath  not  lifted  up  his  soul  unto  vanity 
nor  sworn  deceitfully.  He  shall  receive  the  blessing 
of  the  Lord,  and  righteousness  from  the  God  of  his 
salvation."  Oh,  what  need  have  we  for  frequent  and 
most  rigid  self-examination,  that  we  may  become  in- 
creasingly sensitive  to  every  approach  of  sin.  And 
\ye  are  to  watch  with  all  diligence  against  the  little 
sins.  It  was  the  little  foxes  that  spoiled  the  vines* 
If  we  carelessly  cherish  what  may  seem  to  us  to  be 


WE  WOULD  SEE  JESUS  33 

inconsequential  sins,  for  example,  pride,  which  goeth 
before  destruction,  and  envy,  which  is  as  rottenness 
in  the  bones,  these  sins  will  consume  us  as  doth  a 
cancer  and  more  and  more  will  they  hide  from  us  the 
face  of  Jesus. 

If  we  would  see  Jesus,  we  need  to  magnify  the 
blessedness  of  Christian  fellowship.  The  old-fash- 
ioned experience- meeting,  when  men  and  women 
came  together  just  to  tell,  timidly  though  joyfully, 
what  they  saw  and  felt  and  knew  of  the  things  of 
Jesus — would  to  God  our  churches  had  it  back  again  ! 
^'Then  they  that  feared  the  Lord  spake  often  one  to 
another,  and  the  Lord  hearkened  and  heard  it,  and  a 
book  of  remembrance  was  written  before  Him  for  them 
that  feared  the  Lord,  and  that  thought  on  His  name." 
Sometimes  a  preacher's  sermonic  fires  burn  low,  and 
not  a  text  will  give  up  its  treasures,  dig  for  them 
though  he  may.  What  does  the  preacher  do  ?  Let 
such  preacher  find  and  talk  with  some  one  who 
has  a  vital  knowledge  of  the  saving  grace  of  God, 
and  sermonic  fires  will  immediately  burn  again. 

Once  again,  if  we  would  see  Jesus,  we  must  be  busy 
for  Him.  The  indolent  Christian  cannot  see  much  or 
know  much  of  Jesus.  Idleness  is  one  of  the  most 
terrible  foes  to  grace^  It  is  the  running  stream  that  is 
the  healthy  streami.  The  stagnant  pond  breeds  miasma 
and  malaria  and  death.  Many  a  Christian  who  is 
spiritually  sick,  he  knows  not  why,  would  thrill  with 
a  new  joy  and  new  visions  of  Jesus  if  only  he  would  be 
busy  for  Him.  Doubt,  unbelief,  despondency  are  all 
cut  to  pieces  by  activity.  Jt  is  the  man  who  does 
Christ's  will  unto  whom  isxevealed  His  doctrine. 

And  still  again,  if  we  would  see  Jesus  as  we  ought 


34  WE  WOULD  SEE  JESUS 

and  as  we  may,  we  must  give  ourselves  completely  to 
His  guidauce  and  governmeut.  Jesus  will  be  Lord 
of  all,  or  He  will  not  be  Lord  at  all.  The  reason  why 
so  many  people  get  so  little  out  of  their  religion  is 
because  they  put  so  little  into  it.  If  men  would  see 
Jesus,  see  Him  to  the  deepest  joy  of  their  hearts,  and 
from  Him  'have  the  noblest  victories  in  their  lives, 
then,  for  all  this,  they  must  pay  the  requisite  price. 
Paul  paid  such  price.  Gladly  did  he  suffer  the  loss 
of  all  things,  home,  kindred,  inheritance,  comforts, 
country,  life  itself,  that  he  might  have  the  excellency 
of  tije  knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus,  his  Lord.  Do  you 
wonder  that  he  had  visions  and  revelations  which 
could  not  be  put  into  speech  ?  Do  you  wonder  that 
his  letters  abound  in  doxologies,  as  he  contemplates 
the  unfolding  glory  of  his  Lord  ?  Paul  paid  the  price 
for  his  glorious  visions  of  Jesus. 

Here,  then,  is  the  vital  question  for  us.  Will  we 
pay  the  price  to  see  Jesus  as  we  need  to  see  Him,  as 
He  would  have  us  see  Him  ?  Are  we  willing  to  live 
for  Him,  to  put  Him  first,  to  do  His  will,  be  what  it 
may,  lead  where  it  will  ?  Eight  here  is  the  supreme 
battle  of  the  Christian  life.  It  is  the  battle  between 
Christ  and  self.  The  self-centered  life  will  not  see 
Jesus,  and  must  surely  fail.  The  Christ-centered  life 
will  mount  higher  and  higher  in  its  visions  of  Jesus, 
and  will  more  and  more  exult  in  the  victory  that 
j  overcomes  the  world.*)  George  MacDonald  well  puts 
^his  truth  in  simple  verse  : 

I  said,  ''Let  me  walk  in  the  fields;  " 
He  said,  "  Nay,  walk  in  the  town  ;  ** 

I  said,  *'  There  are  no  flowers  there ; 
He  said,  "No  flowers,  but  a  crown." 


WE  WOULD  SEE  JESUS  86 

i  said,  "  But  ihe  sky  is  black, 
There  is  nothing  but  noise  and  din  ;  ** 

But  He  wept  as  He  sent  me  back  — 

''There  is  more,"  He  said,  "there  is  sin." 

I  said,  "  But  the  air  is  thick 

And  fogs  are  veiling  the  sun ;  '* 
He  answered,  ''  Yet  souls  are  sick. 

And  souls  in  the  dark  undone." 

I  said,  "  I  shall  miss  the  light. 

And  friends  will  miss  me,  they  say;  *' 

He  answered  me,  *'  Choose  to-night 
If  I  am  to  miss  you,  or  they." 

I  pleaded  for  time  to  be  given  ; 
i  He  said,  "  Is  it  hard  to  decide  ? 

It  will  not  seem  hard  in  heaven 

To  have  followed  the  steps  of  your  Guide." 

I  cast  one  look  at  the  fields. 

Then  set  my  face  to  the  town ; 
He  said  :   *'  My  child,  do  you  yield  ? 

Will  you  leave  the  flowers  for  the  crown  ?  " 

Then  into  His  hand  went  mine, 

i\nd  into  my  heart  came  He, 
And  I  walk  in  a  light  divine, 

The  path  i  had  feared  to  see. 

Oh,  men  and  vromen,  if  we  will  pay  the  price,  we 
may  daily  see  Jesus— may  know  that  He  walks  with 
us,  talks  with  ns,  and  lives  with  us,  and  lives  in  us, 
our  certain  help  for  every  day  and  duty  of  earth. 
And  thus  seeing  Him  and  serving  Him,  brighter  and 
better  shall  be  all  our  days,  even  unto  that  blissful 
day  when  we  shall  pass  through  the  gates  of  the 
celestial  city,  where  we  shall  be  *'like  Him,  for  we 
shall  see  Him  as  He  is." 


n 

A  Prayer  For  a  Revival 

Text:  "Wilt  Thou  not  revive  us  again,  that 
Thy  people  may  rejoice  in  Theet"  —  Psalm 
Ixxxv.  6. 

THE  text  is  a  short  prayer,  but  volumes  of 
meaning  are  wrapped  up  in  it.  God  give 
us  to-night  to  pray  it  from  the  very  depths 
of  our  hearts!  It  is  a  prayer  for  God's  people. 
"  Will  Thou  not  revive  us  again,  that  Thy  people 
may  rejoice  in  Thee?''  David  does  not  pray  about 
conditions  or  circumstances,  that  these  may  be 
changed,  but  he  prays  for  people,  for  God's  peo- 
ple. "Wilt  Thou  not  revive  us  again,  that  Thy 
people  may  rejoice  in  Thee?"  For  David  had 
learned  the  lesson  far  back  in  that  olden  time,  that 
if  there  be  any  deep,  great  work  of  grace  wrought  for 
the  world  that  is  lost,  then  such  work  of  grace  will 
begin  in  the  hearts  of  God's  people.  .  It  is  true  and 
does  not  need  to  be  argued  that,  when  God's  people 
are  right,  things  always  go  well  with  His  work,  and 
when  God's  people  are  wrong,  things  go  badly  with 
His  work. 

It  is  a  lesson  that  comes  down  to  us  through  all 
the  generations,  that,  going  before  any  great,  deep 
work  of  grace,  God's  people  have  waited  before  Him 
in  confession  of  sin,  in  supplication  for  His  grace,  in 
the  humbling  of  their  hearts,  in  the  submission  of 

36 


A  PRAYER  FOR  A  REVIVAL  37 

their  wills  to  Him,  that  He  might  do  for  them  and  with 
them  according  to  His  holy  will.  That  is  surely  the 
lesson  that  comes  down  to  us,  touching  God's  work 
and  people  all  through  the  generations.  There  is  no 
such  thing,  brethren,  as  any  great,  deep,  far-reaching 
work  of  grace  anywhere,  if  God's  people  do  not  ex- 
perimentally know  the  mighty  means  of  prayer 
touching  such  work  of  grace.  All  history  as  it  I 
touches  God's  people  and  His  work  in  the  world  is 
the  confirmation  of  this  statement.  When  Israel 
down  in  Egypt  prayed  after  the  right  fashion,  then 
it  was  that  deliverance  came.  In  the  days  of  Nehe-  , 
miah,  when  God's  work  had  run  down,  and  when 
Nehemiah,  with  the  faithful  ones  about  him,  waited 
upon  God  for  its  reviving  and  its  rebuilding,  when 
they  prayed  after  the  right  fashion,  the  walls  of  God's 
house  went  up  again.  It  was  so  in  the  days  of  good 
King  Josiah.  The  thing  that  preeminently  char- 
acterized the  revival  for  the  glory  of  God  in  his  time 
was  the  right  waiting  before  God  of  His  people. 
And  surely  the  one  marvelous  thing  about  that  in- 
comparable meeting  on  the  Day  of  Pentecost,  the 
influence  of  which  kept  on  in  such  wondrous  fashion 
for  a  generation  ;  surely  the  one  marvelous  thing 
about  that  meeting,  from  the  human  view -point,  was, 
that  for  ten  days  God's  people  just  prayed.  For  ten 
long  days  they  tarried  yonder  in  the  quiet  pla<je, 
away  from  the  crowd,  waiting,  with  one  accord,  for 
power  from  on  high.  When  will  we  learn  thej 
lesson,  brethren,  that  it  is  time  gained  in  all  respects 
if  we  give  ourselves  very,  very  much  to  the  blessed 
exercise  of  prayer  in  carrying  on  God's  work  in  the 
world !    For  my  part,  I  do  not  believe  that  in  any . 


38  A  PEAYER  FOR  A  REVIVAL 

of  these  '^  revival  ^'  or  ^'  special  meetiugs"  that  we 
have  that  God  i^  honored  in  them,  or  that  people 
are  really  regenerated  in  them,  it'  going  through  them 
and  before  them  and  after  them  there  is  not  the  mov- 
ing of  the  hearts  of  God's  people  in  prayer. 

When  will  we  rightly  lay  such  great  matter  to 
heart  ?  It  is  fundamental  to  the  real  success  of  all 
God-saving  effort.  And  you  yourselves  are  the  wit- 
nesses that  I  speak  the  truth  to-night.  In  your  own 
Christian  experiences,  out  from  the  past,  even  as  I 
talk,  there  come  to  you  the  memories  of  the  occasions 
when  you  were  specially  blessed  of  God  in  the  win- 
ning of  souls.  Those  mighty  spiritual  blessings  that 
came  to  you  ;  those  days  of  the  right  hand  of  God ; 
those  days  when  yon  heard  His  stately  steppings ; 
those  days  when  you  saw  His  mighty  Spirit  pierce 
the  hearts  of  sinful  men  and  bring  them  down,  thos^ 
were  the  times  when  your  own  hearts  were  empty  of 
their  self-sufaciency,  and  when  with  a  cry  unto 
God  from  the  deepest  depths  of  the  soul,  you  be- 
sought Him  to  arise  and  plead  His  own  cause,  and 
save  lost  sinners  for  whom  Christ  died.  You  your- 
selves, I  say,  are  witnesses  to  that  same  significant 
truth.  When  ;^:ouJ^V£jtiad.5pecia^ 
tQ-wi33^them  to.  God,  it  was. always  when  you  had 
powfii^with  God.^  4.nd  ,iTi£jaLJQ^aQiMs£-P^^s:£^j!nth 
God — itjs  a  thing  unknown  in  His  spiritualMxigdom 
— iLtheyJ^not^en  of  prayer^  men  of  real  interces-, 
sion.  menjwho  knowjthe  meanlngof  the  secret  place, 
idiere  alone  thej  look  into,  the  King' s  iace^until  He 
Sj^eato[_His  message  to  them.^  There  is  no  such  thing 
as  power  to  win  lost  men  to  God  if  His  people  do 
not  pray.     You  yourselves,  I  say,  are  witnesses  tif 


A  PRAYER  FOR  A  REVIVAL  30 

that  great  fact.  The  times  when  you  have  had  power 
with  men  so  that  they  could  not  resist  your  appeals, 
so  that  you  saw  their  faces  humbled  before  you,  and 
you  saw  the  conquest  of  the  soul  go  on  before  your 
very  eyes,  those  were  the  times  when  you  were  in 
touch  with  the  great  King,  when  your  soul  had 
conscious  fellowship  with  Him,  when  you  took  hold 
of  Him  and  felt  that  you  were  one  vvith  Him.  Men 
who  come  to  realize  that  experience  do  so  through 
the  gracious  medium  of  prayer. 

'*  The  burden  of  the  Lord, "  when  that  is  upon  them, 
then  it  is  that  men  know  the  burden  of  prayer.  O 
brethren,  this  light,  easy,  tearless,  hop,  skip  and 
jump  method  in  the  matchless  work  of  turning  men 
to  God  is  not  the  New  Testament  way.  If  men  are 
turned  to  Almighty  God  in  any  blessed  fashion,  then 
the  people  of  God  know  about  it,  and  there  is  a  cry 
unto  Him,  the  deepest  cry  of  their  hearts  is  heard, 
that  lost  sinners  may  be  saved.  God's  people  always 
cry  like  that  if  any  mighty  movement  of  His  Spirit 
and  His  saving  grace  is  felt  among  the  people. 

When  I  was  a  little  lad  I  recall  how  that  again 
and  again  I  went  to  the  old  country  church  to  their 
appointed  *^  protracted  meetings  '^  every  summer,  and 
the  farmers  would  gather  in  at  the  morning  meetings, 
and  then  again  at  the  evening  meetings,  two  services 
a  day,  and  they  would  thas  daily  gather  together  for 
several  days.  Great  crowds  came,  but  often  nothing 
seemed  to  be  done.  I  have  seen  and  heard  those 
farmers,  as  they  would  meet  and  chat  under  the  great 
trees  before  the  morning  service.  Often  they  would 
talk  about  this  and  that  and  then  one  would  say  to 
the  other:    ** Neighbor,   have  you  any  burden  for 


i. 


40  A  PEAYEE  FOE  A  EEVIVAL 

souls  to-day?^'  and  the  answer  would  come  back 
rather  shrinkingly  :  "  No,  neighbor,  I  haven't  any 
special  burden,  yet,  for  souls,  I  am  sorry  to  say." 
And  the  next  day  that  would  be  repeated.  They 
would  thus  talk  around  on  the  edges  of  the  meeting, 
maybe  for  days,  and  then  one  would  say  :  *'  Have 
you  any  burden  about  this  meeting  to-day  1  Have 
you  any  burden  for  souls  to-day  ?  "  And  the  answer 
would  be  with  trembling  lip  and  with  eyes  suffused 
with  tears:  ^'I  have,  O  neighbor,  I  have.  God  is 
my  judge,  how  last  night  I  felt  to  call  upon  Him 
through  the  long,  long  night,  and  I  saw  my  own  boys 
lost,  and  I  saw  your  boys  lost,  and  I  saw  our  neigh- 
borhood lost.  Oh,  I  have  a  burden  for  souls  I  can- 
not describe.''  I  was  at  first  too  small  to  know  what 
it  all  meant,  but  I  can  recall  with  what  awe  I  would 
listen  to  it  all,  and  even  as  a  little  child  my  soul  was 
perfectly  sure  that  God  was  somewhere  near.  And 
He  was !  And  when  we  would  go  into  the  old 
country  meeting  house,  on  such  a  day,  and  the  meet- 
ing would  begin,  and  trembling  lips  would  lead  the 
prayers,  and  the  hymns  would  be  sung,  God  would 
come  down  into  that  meeting,  and  men  that  day  were 
brought  down  by  the  life-giving  Spirit  of  God. 
Whereas  for  days  before  the  meetings  wer^  per- 
functory and  stilted  and  cold,  now  they  were  kindled 
into  a  strange  glow.  Sobs  were  heard  on  every  side, 
and  lost  men  asked  :  ^^  What  must  we  do  to  be 
saved  ? "  What  had  happened,  brethren  ?  That 
"  burden  of  souls  "  had  come  to  God's  people,  with- 
out which  soul-winning  effort  is  largely  in  vain. 
Whenever  they  have  that  ^*  burden  of  souls,"  things 
sjlorious  always  come  to  pass  in  the  kingdom  of  God. 


A  PRAYER  FOR  A  REVIVAL  41 

We  had  better  wait :  we  had  better  betake  our- 
selves to  the  quiet  place ;  we  had  better  search  our 
hearts,  and  beg  Him  to  search  them  for  us  ;  we  had 
better  go  alone,  each  one  for  himself  or  herself,  and 
talk  with  God,  each  one  pouring  out  his  soul  to  this 
effect :  "  O  God,  give  me  to  feel  about  Thy  work  like 
Thou  wishest.  Come  down  in  Thine  own  way,  and 
open  the  gates  to  my  soul,  so  that  I  shall  feel  about 
Thy  work  as  Thou  wishest.  '^  You  and  I  need  to  do 
that,  brethren,  and  we  need  to  do  that  to-night,  with 
special  reference  to  the  work  that  is  just  now  before 
us. 

Some  months  ago  a  pastor  was  out  in  a  vast  country 
camp- meeting.  A  large  arbor  was  provided,  and 
from  night  to  night  there  gathered  a  mighty  crowd, 
so  that  the  pastor  needed  to  put  his  voice  out  to  the 
last  limit  to  be  heard.  But  for  days,  so  far  as  could 
be  judged,  nothing  much  was  done.  One  night  the 
preacher  went  to  his  room,  and  was  making  ready  to 
retire,  when  the  gentleman  with  whom  he  stopped 
came  in.  The  host  had  very  little  to  say,  and  the 
preacher  made  ready  for  sleep,  and  now  was  in  the 
bed,  while  the  host  sat  there  on  the  cot  on  the  other 
side  of  the  room.  Both  slept  in  the  same  room.  The 
good  wife  of  the  host  was  gone,  having  departed  a 
few  years  before,  to  be  with  the  Lord.  He  had  two 
grown  daughters,  popular  and  beautiful,  but  worldly 
—worldly,  it  seemed,  after  an  unusual  fashion.  He 
sat  over  there  that  night  on  his  cot,  and  after  a  while, 
j  ust  as  the  preacher  was  ready  to  sleep,  a  sob  was 
heard,  and  the  preacher  looked  up,  and  beheld  his 
kindly  friend  with  his  face  in  his  hands,  and  his 
great    body  fairly  quivering.     Said  the  preacher : 


42  A  PRAYEE  FOR  A  REVIVAL 

"What  is  the  troubled'  calling  his  host  by  name. 
He  answered  :  "  You  ought  to  know  what  the  trouble 
is.  You  have  been  in  my  home  for  three  or  four 
days.  You  ought  to  know  what  the  trouble  is." 
The  preacher  said  :  '^Yes,  I  do  ;  it  is  the  girls." 
The  host  replied  :  '^  It  is  even  so.  Their  mother  is 
gone,  and  the  sense  of  responsibility  for  them  comes 
over  me  to-night  as  I  never  felt  it  before  in  all  my 
life.'^  Then  he  added  :  "  Oh,  if  Mary  (that  was  the 
older  one)  would  only  come  to  Christ,  if  she  would 
only  come  to  Christ,  the  problem,  I  think,  would  be 
settled  with  Jennie.  Jennie  always  does  what  Mary 
does."  The  preacher  said  :  "  Well,  we  will  pray  for 
Mary  to-night,"  and  out  of  his  bed  he  came,  and 
knelt  by  his  host.  They  talked  to  God  about  Mary, 
specifically  about  her,  that  the  Almighty  Saviour 
might  Himself  take  hold  of  her  heart,  and  bring  her 
to  Himself.  She  was  an  amiable,  beautiful  girl,  as 
has  been  said,  but  utterly  indifferent  about  the  claims 
of  the  soul,  so  far  as  could  be  seen.  Then  the 
preacher  went  back  to  his  bed.  After  a  while  the 
door  stood  ajar,  and  the  anxious  father  was  seen 
quietly  going  out  through  the  moonlight,  and  then 
the  door  was  closed,  and  the  preacher  was  soon 
asleep.  In  the  early  morning  time  the  door  was 
again  quietly  opened,  and  in  came  the  host.  A 
glance  at  his  cot  showed  that  he  had  been  absent  for 
the  night.  The  preacher  asked  :  '' Where  have  you 
been?"  And  the  answer  was:  '^I  will  tell  you 
about  it,  but  you  need  not  speak  of  it  to  the  others. 
It  is  not  a  matter  to  be  spoken  of.  I  have  been  out 
there  all  night  long  talking  to  God  about  Mary  ;  and 
that  is  not  all.     Mary  will  come  to  Christ  to-day." 


A  PRAYER  FOR  A  REVIVAL  43 

Said  the  preacher:  ^^Do  you  look  for  that?'^  He 
simply  answered  :  "Yes,  you  will  see  that  blessed 
result  to-day.'^  And  that  day,  when  the  preacher 
finished  his  sermon  at  the  morning  meeting,  and 
asked,  while  they  sang,  if  anybody  had  found  the 
Saviour,  to  come  and  confess  Hkn  before  all  the  peoi)le, 
before  they  could  start  the  music  at  all,  Mary  came, 
with  smiling  face,  and  said  :  "  I  found  Him  while  you 
preached. '^  Do  you  doubt,  my  brethren,  that  there 
was  a  vital  connection  between  that  man's  prayer 
and  that  child' s  return  to  Christ  ?  The  very  next  day, 
before  the  preacher  had  preached  ten  minutes,  the 
other  daughter,  Jennie,  rose  up  in  the  midst  of  the 
great  crowd,  and  said:  '^Papa,  I  have  found  the 
Saviour,  too."  I  ask  again,  do  you  doubt  that  there 
was  a  vital  connection  between  that  prayer  and  that 
child's  return  to  Christ  ?  O  God,  burden  us  for  souls  ! 
Burden  us  for  souls  !  Ah,  Paul  had  the  "  burden 
for  souls."  Hear  him  :  ''I  say  the  truth  in  Christ,  I 
lie  not,  my  conscience  also  bearing  me  witness  in  the 
Holy  Ghost,  that  I  have  great  heaviness  and  con- 
tinual sorrow  in  my  heart.  For  I  could  wish  that 
myself  were  accursed  from  Christ,  for  my  brethren, 
my  kinsmen,  according  to  the  flesh."  The  '^burden 
for  souls  " — may  God  give  it  to  us  all !  This  is  God's 
way — may  His  way  be  ours  ! 

Why  is  this  God's  way?  The  reasons  for  it  could 
be  multiplied.  Here  are  some.  This  is  God's  plan. 
Because  in  His  own  infinite  wisdom  He  chose  that  it 
should  be  His  plan,  that  is  enough  for  us.  God  hasi' 
revealed  all  along  that  one  of  the  mightiest  instru-l 
ments  in  His  kingdom  for  the  furtherance  of  His 
cause  in  this  world,  for  the  turning  of  men  to  Christ! 


44  A  PRAYER  FOR  A  REVIVAL 

fis  prayer.  See  the  inj  unctions  to  us  to  pray.  We 
are  to  pray  without  ceasing.  We  are  to  pray  for  all 
men.  We  are  not  to  so  sin  against  the  Lord,  and  so 
sin  against  men,  as  to  cease  praying  for  men.  Be- 
hold how  the  Scriptures  magnify  the  place  of  prayer 
in  the  kingdom  of  God  for  the  furtherance  of  His 
truth.  It  is  God's  plan,  and  we  are  to  address  our- 
selves to  God's  plan.  Whenever  we  know  God's 
mind  about  anything,  then  we  have  reached  the  end 
of  the  debate.     We  are  to  obey  Him  unreservedly. 

And,  then,  we  go  further,  and  see  that  as  labor  is 
good  for  us  in  the  world  physical,  so  is  it  in  the  world 
spiritual.  Spiritual  labor  is  an  exercise  of  incalcu- 
lable moment.  As  ii^  the  physical  world  physical 
labor  is  for  our  upbuilding,  in  the  world  spiritual, 
spiritual  labor,  the  exercising  of  ourselves  unto 
Godliness,  is  the  thing  made  very  much  of  in  the 
Scriptures. 

Nor  is  that  all.  This  kind  of  waiting  upon  God, 
this  kind  of  confession  of  helplessness,  and  of  supplica- 
tion for  grace  and  power,  fits  us  to  take  care  of  peo- 
ple when  they  are  saved.  O  brethren,  how  sad  it  is 
that  our  young  Christians,  so  many  times,  get  such  a 
pitiful  start  in  the  Christian  life  !  It  is  a  great  thing 
for  a  Christian  to  be  well  born,  and  that  is  one  reason 
why  we  need  to  guard  the  churches  of  Jesus  Christ. 
The  churches  of  Jesus  Christ  are  the  supreme  centers 
of  evangelization.  One  of  the  things  we  have  most 
earnestly  to  protest  against,  in  these  times,  is  the 
carrying  away  of  evangelistic  efforts  from  the 
churches  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  churches  are  the  hot- 
beds wherein  the  plants  are  to  be  grown  to  the 
Saviour's  honor.     This  is  certainly  a  time  when  the 


A  PEAYER  FOR  A  REVIVAL  45 

churches  need  to  give  their  most  vigorous  and  faith- 
ful attention  to  this  meaningful  truth.  Ring  it  out 
everywhere  that  the  churches  are  the  centers  where 
evangelistic  effort  may  be  most  wisely  conducted. 
When  Christ's  church  is  spiritual,  and  calls  upon 
Him  with  all  humility,  and  with  self-abnegation,  and 
He  answers  back,  and  gives  them  a  soul  saved,  then 
the  church  is  ready  to  take  care  of  that  soul.  Why 
is  it  that  in  very  many  of  our  churches  vast  numbers 
remain  little  spiritual  babes  all  their  lives?  The 
answer  is  their  start  was  bad.  Their  surroundings 
were  not  of  a  gracious  sort.  They  were  not  put  on 
the  right  track,  and  kept  going  on  the  right  track. 
We  are  ready  to  take  care  of  the  young  converts, 
when  they  come  to  us,  in  answer  to  the  right  sort  of 
prayer.  What  would  become  of  that  little  new-born 
babe  if  it  should  be  taken  from  its  mother's  arms, 
and  thrown  into  the  snow  banks  ?  And  what  will  be- 
come of  the  little  new-born  child  of  God  if  it  be 
ushered  into  a  church  where  the  atmosphere  is  luke- 
warm, and  worldly,  and  indifferent  to  God's  claims? 
There  is  likely  to  be  one  outcome,  only,  to  that  little 
religious  life.  The  shipwreck  of  happiness  and  use- 
fulness, for  the  most  part.  Our  God  has  ordained 
this  great  method  of  carrying  on  His  work,  so  that 
when  souls  are  given  to  us,  we  are  able  to  take  care 
of  them  after  the  right  fashion. 

Not  only  that,  but  this  is  His  plan,  in  order  to 
teach  us  what  we  seem  to  forget  most  quickly  of  all — 
salvation  is  of  the  Lord.  That  is  the  truth  that  we 
seem  to  learn  last  of  all,  and  the  truth  that  we  seem 
to  forget  most  quickly  of  all, — salvation  is  of  the 
Lord.     Oh,  we  accept  it  theoretically.     You  ask  if 


46  A  PEAYER  FOR  A  REVIVAL 

we  believe  it,  and  with  great  promptness  we  answei 
that  we  do,  and  yet,  do  we  ?  How  much  do  we  be- 
lieve it  ?  How  long  we  are  forgetting  that  vital  truth, 
that  we  can  raise  men  from  that  cemetery  yonder  as 
easily  as  we  can  regenerate  the  most  amiable  child  in 
your  Sunday-school  to  God,  — that  we  can  speak  a  world 
like  this  into  life  as  easily  as  we  can  regenerate  the 
most  lovely  soul  in  this  city  !  Salvation  is  a  divine 
work.  Regeneration  is  a  divine  work.  Conviction 
for  sin  is  a  divine  work.  The  turning  of  men  to  God  is 
a  divine  work.  The  making  of  men  ready  for  heaven 
is  a  divine  work.  We  learn  that  when  we  are  on 
our  knees  before  God.  When  we  are  out  talking, 
and  moving  among  men,  we  may  go  a  great  deal  on 
the  doctrine  of  salvation  by  works,  but  when  we  are  on 
our  faces  before  God,  our  helplessness  is  borne  in  upon 
us,  md  then,  with  self-abnegation  and  a  sense  of  our 
utter  insufaciency,  we  humbly  wait  upon  God  for 
Him  to  do  His  work.  And,  mark  it,  when  our  atti- 
tude is  right  before  Him,  He  always  uses  us  to  do  His 
work. 

'Will  we  mate  this  prayer  in  our  text  personal  to- 
night? That  is  the  crucial  poin^  I  must  ask  you  to 
face.  Will  we  make  this  prayer  of  our  text,  to- 
night, personal  1  **Wilt  Thou  not  revive  us  again, 
that  Thy  people  here  may  rejoice  in  Thee?"  Will 
we  make  it  personal  ?  Do  we  wish  for  it  to  be  per- 
sonal ?  I  am  going  to  ask  you  that  direct  question, 
and  I  am  going  to  ask  you  to  answer  it,  and  I  beseech 
you  to  answer  it  in  sincerity  and  truth.  Is  this  our 
prayer  to-night?  For  let  us  know  full  well  that  each 
one  of  us  shall  be  a  helper  or  a  hindrance  in  this 
proposed  work.     All  along  we  are  one  of  these  two 


A  PEAYER  FOR  A  REVIVAL  47 

things  in  Christ's  work.  I  speak  now  to  Christians. 
I  speak  to  those  who  have  named  Christ's  name,  who 
know  and  profess  His  cause  to  love.  We  are  one  of 
these  two  things  in  Christ's  work.  We  are  either 
helpers  or  hinderers  in  giving  salvation  to  the  perish- 
ing around  us. 

Who  hinders  Christ's  work  ?  First  of  all,  the  idle 
Christian  hinders  His  work.  Christians  are  not  made 
to  be  idle.  They  are  not  made  to  be  dumb.  They 
are  not  made  for  their  lips  to  be  sealed  so  that  they 
give  forth  no  testimony  to  the  dying  around  them. 
Christians  are  made  to  be  busy.  Christians  are  left 
in  the  world  to  be  active,  to  be  active  for  Jesus 
Christ.  The  idle  Christian,  then,  hinders  the  cause 
of  God  in  the  earth.  O  Christian,  if  thou  art  idle, 
thou  art  hindering  somewhere  the  advance  of  the 
great  kingdom  of  God.  The  idleness  of  Christians 
surely  hinders  the  march  of  the  kingdom  of  God. 
Call  to  mind  those  solemn  words  of  Jesus  :  "  He  that 
is  not  with  Me  is  against  Me  ;  and  he  that  gathereth 
not  with  Me  scattereth  abroad."  What  does  your 
heart  say  to  that  ?  Jesus  cursed  the  fig  tree  because 
it  was  idle.  It  ought  to  have  borne  fruit,  and  it  did 
not,  therefore  He  cursed  it.  Meroz  of  old  was  cursed 
because  Meroz  was  idle.  Meroz  did  not  take  up 
arms  against  the  other  tribes  of  Israel.  Meroz  did 
not  lift  up  the  black  flag,  and  turn  traitor  to  Israel. 
Meroz  simply  stayed  at  home  and  left  her  brothers 
to  go  out  and  fight  the  battle,  and  they  went  out  and 
fotight,  and  won,  but  with  their  victorious  refrain 
there  was  mingled  the  refrain  of  the  curse  of  the 
angel  of  God  :  ^'  Curse  ye  Meroz,  curse  ye  bitterly 
the  inhabitants  thereof;  because  they  came  not  to 


48  A  PEAYER  FOR  A  REVIVAL 

the  help  of  the  Lord,  to  the  help  of  the  Lord  against 
the  mighty."  The  idle  Christian  hinders  God's 
work. 

Nor  is  that  all.  The  Christian  not  right  with  God 
hinders  His  work,  and  this  is  a  matter  of  unspeak- 
able gravity,  if  only  we  rightly  knew  it.  If  he  is 
not  right  in  his  outward  conduct,  we  can  see  how 
that  hinders  God's  work  ;  but,  brethren,  what  wounds 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  receives  in  the  house  of  His 
friends.  His  real  friends,  from  men  who  do  love 
Him,  men  who,  if  they  were  crowded  to  the  wall, 
would  die  for  Him  !  And  yet  what  wounds  He  re- 
ceives at  the  hands  of  such  men,  full  niany  a  time, 
by  their  inconsistent  words  and  their  inconsistent 
works.  How  we  hinder  the  cause  of  Jesus  Christ 
ourselves  !  We  need  not  trouble  so  much  about  the 
attacks  of  some  blatant  infidel  out  yonder,  who  rails 
against  the  Bible.  That  is  not  the  supreme  trouble 
at  all,  but  the  trouble  supreme  to  the  advancement 
of  our  Lord's  kingdom  in  this  world  is  with  the 
people  of  His  kingdom,  with  those  who  love  it,  and 
who  are  of  it,  and  yet  whose  lives  do  not  harmonize 
with  it.  There  is  our  supreme  trouble.  If  we  are 
saying  wrong  things,  or  if  we  are  doing  wrong 
things ;  if,  in  our  lives,  inconsistencies  may  be 
seen ;  if  there  is  marked  worldliness,  and  if  we  fall 
so  far  short  of  the  characteristics  of  what  a  Christian 
ought  to  have,  so  that  men  about  us  believe  that  our 
religion  is  just  a  theory,  and  not  the  dominating 
passion  of  our  lives,  then  are  we  hindering  the  cause 
of  Christ  to  a  very  sad  degree. 

Nor  is  that  all.  We  hinder  the  cause  of  Christ, 
oh.  so  sadly,  even  though  outwardly  all  may  seem 


A  PEAYEE  FOE  A  EEVIVAL  49 

10  be  well  with  us,  if  inwardly  it  is  not  well  with  us. 
I  do  not  know  of  any  thought  for  the  Christian  more 
terribly  serious  than  this — that  the  secret  condition 
of  his  heart,  which  condition  his  wife  does  not  know, 
cannot  know, — nor  his  most  intimate  earthly  com- 
panion ;  which  condition  is  known  only  to  him  and 
to  God,  the  secret  condition  of  his  heart,  is  helping 
men  in  this  city  heavenward,  or  turning  them  hell- 
ward.  The  secret  condition  of  your  heart,  a  condition 
where  no  other  eye  can  look,  save  One,  that  secret 
condition  is  now  helping  men  up,  or  dragging  them 
down,  even  as  you  sit  in  this  building  to-night.  If  a 
man's  heart  be  right  with  God,  then  one  prayer 
prayed  from  such  a  heart  will  have  more  power 
with  God  and  with  men  than  a  thousand  years  of 
praying  if  the  heart  be  all  wrong  with  God.  No 
wonder,  then,  that  David  prayed  :  ''  O  God,  restore 
unto  me  the  joy  of  Thy  salvation.''  Not  salvation, 
mind  you.  He  had  that,  but  he  prayed,  ' '  Give  me 
back  again  the  joy  of  Thy  salvation,  and  then  I  will 
teach  transgressors  Thy  ways,  and  then  sinners  shall 
be  converted  unto  God."  When  a  man  is  right  with 
God,  then  there  is  power  in  his  praying.  When  a 
man  is  right  with  God,  he  may  lock  the  heavens,  as 
did  Elijah,  or,  like  him,  he  may  unlock  them.  Mind 
you,  it  is  the  supplication  of  a  ^ '  righteous ' '  man 
that  availeth  much.  So  the  secret  condition  of  our 
hearts  is  helping  now,  or  hindering  now,  these  ap- 
pointed gospel  meetings,  and  will  help  or  hinder 
them  all  along.  If  there  is  one  picture  in  the  Bible 
more  than  another  that  is  solemn  in  the  extreme,  it 
is  the  picture  of  Achan's  secret  sin,  and  the  doom 
that  followed,  in  Joshua's  army,  in  the  olden  time. 


A^ 


^ 


50  A  PRAYEE  FOE  A  EEVIVAL 

which  sin  was  known  only  to  himself  and  to  God, 
until  Achan  was  searched  and  exposed.  O  breth- 
ren, I  had  this  night  rather  be  nailed  up  in  my 
coffin  and  buried  alive  than  to  go  through  thes« 
gospel  meetings  with  my  heart  all  wrong;  and  my 
soul  out  of  harmony  with  God  ;  for  I  will  either 
help  or  I  will  hinder  others.  Death  were  prefer- 
able infinitely  than  that  a  man  should  go  on  as  a 
Christian,  himself  hindering  salvation,  himself 
hindering  the  blessed  current  of  life  that  comes 
from  God  to  man.  Death  were  preferable  to  that. 
But  every  Christian  is  one  of  these  two  things— a 
hinderer  or  a  helper.  He  is  a  channel  through 
which  God  is  pleased  to  send  His  grace  and  bless- 
ings to  lost  men,  or  he  is  a  clog  to  stop  up  that 
channel. 

Is  this  text  our  prayer  to-night?  *'Eevive  us 
again" — do  we  pray  it?  Know  this,  dear  friends, 
God  has  a  blessing  for  us  here,  if — if  what?  God 
has  a  blessing  for  us  here,  blessed  be  His  name,  if 
only  we  wish  it  sufficiently.  There  is  a  recipe  for 
^  soul- winning  effort  given  back  yonder  in  the  seventh 
chapter  of  Second  Chronicles,  the  observance  of 
which  never  fails  :  '*  If  My  people,  which  are  called 
by  My  name,  shall  humble  themselves,  and  pray, 
and  seek  My  face,  and  turn  from  their  wicked  ways  ; 
then  I  will  hear  from  heaven,  and  will  forgive  their 
sins,  and  will  heal  their  land.''  Don't  you  see  it! 
The  observance  of  that  recipe  never  fails,  and  never 
will.  We  shall  have  here  a  great  blessing,  brethren, 
if  we  will  faithfully  live  out  the  truth  of  this  one 
verse. 

Are  we  going  to  be  satisfied  if  Christ's  people  are 


A  PRAYEE  FOE  A  EEVIVAL  51 

not  revived  ?  Then  they  will  not  be.  Are  we  going 
to  be  satisfied  if  men  all  about  us  are  not  convicted 
for  sin,  and  by  divine  power  turned  to  Christ  ?  Can 
we  be  satisfied  if  that  result  does  not  come  ?  Then  it 
will  not  come.  Any  preacher  who  can  complacently 
preach  on,  mouth  in  and  month  out,  and  year  in  and 
year  out,  without  seeing  men  converted  ;  who  can 
preach  on  through  all  that,  and  eat  heartily  and 
sleep  soundly,  will  not  see  many  converts  under  his 
ministry.  I  tell  you,  it  is  a  life  and  death  business  in 
which  we  are  engaged.  Any  church  that  can  sit 
with  folded  hands  and  be  satisfied  if  men  are  not 
turned  to  God,  that  can  be  easy  with  such  a  condi- 
tion, will  not  have  men  added  unto  her,  whose  testi- 
mony will  be,  ''In  that  place  I  was  turned  unto 
God."  Do  we  wish  to  be  revived ?  We  shall  have  a 
great  turning  to  God  here,  blessed  be  His  name,  if  we  A 
wish  it  enough. 

May  I  take  one  moment  more  just  to  talk  to  you 
about  your  plain  duty  ?  O  God,  bear  Thou  in  upon 
us  to-night  the  realization  of  this  thought :  We  are 
left  here  to  speak  to  dying  men  and  women  and  chil- 
dren, at  every  possible  place,  and  in  every  possible 
way,  concerning  the  saving  grace  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Shall  I  talk  to  you  about  such  duty  ?  You  Christians 
are  to  remember  that  teaching  school  is  incidental ; 
practicing  medicine  is  incidental ;  pleading  law  is  in- 
cidental ;  being  a  farmer  is  incidental.  All  these 
things  are  but  mere  incidents  in  tne  life  that  you  are 
left  here  to  live.  The  supreme  thing  for  which  you 
live  is  to  point  men  to  Christ. 

Shall  I  talk  to  you  about  your  responsibility? 
That  is,   indeed,   a  solemn  question:  "'Am  I  my 


52  A  PEAYER  FOR  A  REVIVAL 

brother's  keeper!  "  The  answer  must  be  that  I  am 
his  keeper  to  the  last  limit  of  my  ability  to  help  him. 
And  by  just  letting  him  alone ;  by  simple  neglect,  I 
may  become  my  brother's  spiritual  murderer.  Yonder 
is  a  man,  let  us  suppose,  dying  on  the  streets  of 
Dallas  to-night.  You  will  see  him  as  you  go  home. 
He  is  sick,  or  drunk  and  helpless.  We  will  imagine 
that  it  is  a  cold  and  stormy  night.  The  snow  and 
sleet  are  falling  fast.  The  man  is  helpless.  He  lies 
in  the  gutter,  all  unconscious,  it  may  be,  of  his  awful 
danger.  You  look  upon  him,  and  pass  him  by. 
You  must  leave  him  to  that  awful  fate,  and  in  the 
morning  he  will  be  dead.  And  in  the  sight  of 
heaven  his  blood  will  be  required  at  your  hands. 
You  have  no  right  to  leave  your  brother  to  such  a 
fate  as  that.  Here  is  a  neighbor  or  a  child,  or  a 
brother,  or  a  friend  in  spiritual  night,  and  he  does 
not  realize  it.  He  is  condemned  under  the  law  of 
God,  and  he  does  not  apprehend  it.  He  may  be  in 
eternity  to-morrow,  and  he  does  not  take  it  to  heart. 
He  is  without  God,  and  without  hope,  and  without 
light,  and  without  life,  and  without  grace,  and  with- 
out salvation,  and  you  know  it.  Leaving  him  alone, 
to  die  in  his  sins,  with  such  knowledge  in  your  pos- 
session, means  that,  going  down  the  dusty  way  of 
death,  his  blood  may  be  required  at  your  hands. 

Do  you  wish  for  God  to  revive  you  and  this  church 
and  His  people  here  just  as  He  wishes  to  do  it  ?  Do 
you  men  and  women  here  to-night  wish  Him  to  send 
you  that  quickening  of  conscience,  that  renewal  of 
strength,  that  restoring  of  the  joy  of  salvation,  that 
will  help  you  to  do  what  He  asks  at  your  hands? 
Do  you  wish  that  ?    Do  you  wish  a  revival  here,  just 


A  PEAYER  FOE  A  EEVIVAL  53 

Ike  He  wishes  it  ?  What  say  your  hearts  f  Answer 
honestly,  and  we  are  ready  to  be  dismissed.  Every 
man  and  woman  here  who  answers  back  from  the 
heart,  **  Before  God,  I  do,  to-night,  go  on  record, 
with  His  eye  upon  me,  and  in  the  sight  of  men,  that 
I  wish  Him  to  come  during  these  quiet  meetings,  and 
absolutely  have  His  way  with  me  and  with  these 
meetings, "  will  now,  in  this  solemn  moment,  quietly 
signify  such  wish  by  standing. 

(During  the  solemn  pause  many  quietly  rose.) 
The  preacher  added:  ^'Behold  us.  Lord,  as  our 
solemn  wish  is  now  recorded  in  Thy  sight,  and  in 
each  other's  sight.  From  our  hearts  we  would  most 
fervently  pray,  '  Wilt  Thou  not  revive  us  again,  that 
Thy  people  may  rejoice  in  Thee  ?  "' 


m 

Trumpeting  the  Gospel 
(An  Anniversary  Sermon) 

FEOM  Paul's  First  Letter  to  the  Thessalonians, 
the  first  chapter  and  eighth  verse,  this  sentence 
is  taken  for  our  text : 

"  From  you  sounded  out  the  Word  of  the  Lord,  not 
only  in  Macedonia  and  Achaia;,  but  also  in  every 
place  your  faith  to  God-ward  is  spread  abroad  j  so 
that  we  need  not  speak  anything.^' 

Paul  is  here  paying  a  most  remarkable  compliment 
to  the  church  at  Thessalonica.  We  shall  search  in 
vain  in  all  the  Scriptures  for  a  more  delicate  and  beauti- 
ful, and  yet  worthy  compliment  than  this  paid  by  Paul 
to  that  old-time  church.  Paul's  compliments  were 
worth  having.  He  was  no  fulsome  flatterer.  He  was 
discriminating  and  just,  sincere  and  true  ;  and  there- 
fore the  more  beautiful  and  significant  stands  out  this 
compliment  that  Paul  paid  that  church.  *'  You  are 
a  dynamic  force  for  the  Gospel,"  said  Paul  ;  ^^you 
have  made,  and  are  making,  an  impression  for  it  so 
wonderful  that  I  do  not  need  to  say  one  word."  Did 
you  ever  note  a  more  desirable  compliment  ? 

Some  time  before  this  Paul  had  gone  from  Philippi, 
where  he  had  been  assaulted,  maltreated,  beaten,  into 
this  heathen  city  of  Thessalonica.  When  he  opened 
his  lips  to  speak  the  wonderful  words  of  life,  there 

64 


TRUMPETING  THE  GOSPEL  55 

was  a  remarkable  response  right  in  the  heart  of  that 
heathen  capital.  Men  who  served  idols,  men  steeped 
in  the  lust  of  idolatry  and  in  the  basest  forms  of  vice 
that  enshrouded  that  city,  heard  this  man  tell  about 
One  who  came  from  the  Father's  house  to  reveal  the 
Father's  love,  and  who  gave  Himself  to  break  the 
shackles  from  men  who  would  be  disenthralled,  and 
who  would  walk  in  the  sunlight  of  truth  and  right- 
eousness. And  they  believed  that  message,  and  from 
that  hour  they  voiced  it  with  their  noble  living. 
From  that  hour  their  lives  were  fundamentally 
changed. 

You  have  noted,  haven't  you,  what  an  eye  Paul 
had  for  strategic  places  ?  He  was  a  seer.  He  had 
the  forecast  of  the  first  statesman  of  the  world.  He 
knew  that  what  was  done  in  a  city  was  a  thing  not 
done  in  a  corner,  but  everybody  would  hear  about  it 
and  know  about  it,  and  feel  it,  according  to  whether 
it  should  be  good  or  bad.  He  knew  that,  and  he 
put  that  great  heart  and  hand  and  brain  of  his  on 
the  city.  As  goes  the  city  so  shall  go  the  country 
and  the  whole  land.  The  city  is  the  nerve-center 
and  the  storm-center  of  civilization  and  of  Christian- 
ity. If  these  cities  are  not  saved,  Christianity  is  lost 
and  all  is  lost.  If  these  cities  are  saved  the  whole 
land  shall  be  vocal  with  the  songs  of  heaven.  Paul 
knew  that,  and  that  statesman-like  eye  of  his  swept 
those  cities  of  Europe  and  Asia,  and  his  heart  cov- 
eted those  centers,  those  strongholds  for  God. 

Let  everybody  keep  his  eye  on  the  city.  That 
little  remote  village  yonder,  far  in  the  country  place, 
away  from  the  noise  and  confusion  of  the  city,  is 
vitally  interested  in  what  we  do  here  in  the  city,  and 


66  TEUMPETING  THE  GOSPEL 

we  must  not  forget  this,  nor  must  they.  A  road 
leads  from  that  little  village,  or  from  that  remote 
country  schoolhouse  to  the  city ;  and  not  only  does 
the  road  lead  here,  but  the  boy  out  there  is  coming 
here,  and  we  shall  contaminate  him  and  damn  him, 
or  we  shall  disenthral  him  and  add  to  his  strength 
and  nobleness,  and  send  him  back  a  joy  to  the  old 
folks  that  sent  him  away  with  so  much  concern. 
The  little  remote  country  community  is  vitally  in- 
terested in  the  city,  interested  in  its  laws,  interested 
in  it  in  every  respect.  There  is  no  drawing  a  line 
and  saying,  *'The  city  shall  stay  on  this  side."  It 
isn't  going  to  do  it.  *'  And  the  country  shall  stay 
OD  that  side."  It  isn't  going  to  do  it.  We  are 
neighbors,  and  ever  becoming  more  so,  mingling  and 
intermingling.  We  are  to  plan  our  deeds  of  noblest 
strength  right  in  the  heart  of  the  city.  Paul  did  that 
in  Thessalonica,  and  in  the  other  cities  of  the  time  in 
which  he  lived,  showing  what  an  eye  he  had  for 
strategic  situations. 

Did  you  notice  this  expressive  word  that  Paul  em- 
ployed ?  We  come  upon  it  here  for  the  first  time, 
and  I  think  the  only  time  in  the  'New  Testament,  in 
its  description  of  the  business  of  a  church :  ^'From 
you  sounded  out  the  word  of  life."  The  church  is 
to  be  God's  trumi)et.  ''From  you  is  trumpeted 
forth  the  word  of  life."  From  this  trumpet  the  word 
of  life  is  to  be  sounded  forth.  A  church  is  God's 
agency  supreme  in  the  world  through  which  His  love 
is  revealed  and  His  grace  made  kuown.  That  is  the 
busiuess  of  a  church,  and  here  it  is  strikingly  set 
forth. 

Let  us  look  at  two  or  three  vital  truths  that  are 


TEUMPETING  THE  GOSPEL  57 

enwrapped    in  this  compliment  Paul  pays  to  the 
church  at  Thessalonica. 

And,  first,  he  tells  us  the  kind  of  men  that  sounded  / 
out  the  word  of  life.  The  context  gives  us  the  de- 
scription of  such  men.  They  were  men  who  pos- 
sessed the  fundamental  virtues  of  the  Christian  life, 
the  cardinal  virtues,  the  vital  virtues — three  of  them. 
**Eemembering,"  said  Paul,  '*  without  ceasing,  your  ^ 
work  of  faith,  your  labor  of  Igye,  and  your  patience 
of  hope  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  These  are  the 
fundamental,  Christian  virtues,  and  these  Christians 
in  Thessalonica  possess  them.  "Your  work  of  faith, 
your  labor  of  love,  your  patience  of  hope. "  What 
a  trio  that,  and  how  fond  Paul  was  of  such  trios ! 
In  concluding  that  incomparable  chapter  on  Love, 
the  thirteenth  chapter  of  First  Corinthians,  Paul 
said:  "And  now  abideth  faith,  hope,  love,  these 
three  ;  but  the  greatest  of  these  is  love. ' '  The  abid- 
ing virtues,  the  cardinal  virtues,  the  fundamental 
virtues  in  a  Christian  life,  were  possessed  by  these 
Thessalonian  Chi'istians,  who  sounded  forth  the  word 
of  life,  about  whom  Paul  spoke  so  glowingly. 

And  Paul  further  said :  ^ '  You  were  possessed  by 
these  virtues;  you  did  not  receive  the  Gospel  in  A 
word  only,  but  also  in  power,  and  in  the  Holy  Ghost, 
and  in  much  assurance. ''  "That  is  to  say,"  said 
Paul :  "You  were  absorbed  by  these  great  matters  ; 
you  took  your  religion  seriously ;  you  accounted  it 
the  first  thing  in  the  world  to  be  true  followers  of 
God,  to  be  faithful  imitators  of  Christ."  And  still 
further,  said  Paul:  "You  held  constant,  you  were  *^ 
invariable  in  the  midst  of  sorest  trials."  Go  read 
again  in  the  book  of  the  Acts,  and  see  how  those 


68  TEUMPETING  THE  GOSPEL 

early  ChristiaDS  in  Thessalouica  were  assaulted  by 
the  mob,  how  their  blood  flowed  down  their  backs 
from  the  scourgings  laid  on  them  by  cruel  persecu- 
tors. Mark  how  they  were  hunted  like  the  wild 
beasts  on  the  mountains,  how  they  watched,  and  yet 
as  they  watched,  mark  how  they  sang  their  songs  of 
praise  and  voiced  their  hymns  of  obedience  to  Jesus  ! 

L^Paul  said  to  those  Christians:  ^' You  were  constant 
in  the  midst  of  sorest  trials  ;  you  did  not  recant  when 
the  battle  became  fierce ;  you  did  not  flee,  coward- 
like, when  the  stress  of  the  storm  was  on  you ;  you 
were  true."  Oh,  what  a  tribute  was  that  for  Paul 
to  pay  a  little  group  of  Christians,  that  they  were 
constant,  that  they  were  invariable,  that  they  obeyed 
without  wavering !  What  a  tribute  was  that — to 
the  dependable  man  ! 

I  have  had  occasion  to  say  it  before,  but  I  would 
say  it  again  and  again — I  care  less  and  less  for  what 
you  are  pleased  to  term  your  brilliant  man.  I  care 
^^  more  and  more  for  your  dependable  man — the  man 
true  in  every  storm,  the  man  who,  when  folks  dis- 
cuss him  in  their  little  circles  and  cliques  and  cau- 
cuses, must  say  :  ' '  You  may  put  that  man  down  as  on 
the  side  of  right  though  the  heavens  fall."    Your 

*-^ependable  man,  your  man  who  is  not  a  weather- 
vane,  your  man  who  does  not  try  to  ride  two  horses 
at  the  same  time  going  in  opposite  directions,  he  is 
the  salt  of  the  earth,  the  life-blood  of  civilization. 
William  Pitt  made  correct  answer  when  one  asked 
him  one  day  :  "Mr.  Pitt,  what  would  you  pronounce 

•^  the  first  qualification  for  a  prime  minister  of  Great 
Britain  I "  And  he  said  :  "  The  first  qualification  is 
patience."     Said  the  questioner  :  "  What  would  yon 


TRUMPETING  THE  GOSPEL  59 

pronouDce  the  second  qualification  for  a  prime  minis-  ( 
ter  of  Great  Britain  ?  ' '  And  Pitt  replied  :  ' '  The  sec- 
ond qualification  is  patience."  *'Well,  then,"  said 
the  questioner,  ''  what  would  you  pronounce  the  third 
qualification?"  And  he  said:  *'The  third  is  pa- 
tience." Wasn't  it  wisely  said?  We  need  patience 
to  hold  on,  patience  to  plod,  patience  to  persevere, 
patience  to  keep  at  our  work  without  wavering  or 
fainting.  ^'Be  thou  faithful  unto  death" — not  until 
death — that  isn't  what  it  says,  that  isn't  what  it 
means.  "Be  thou  faithful  unto  death" — that  is, ^1_, 
die    before    being  unfaithful.     Any  man  ought  to 

prefer  any  hour  to  die  than  to  play  the  ignominious  ; 

traitor  and  be  unfaithful  to  the  right  thing.  "Be 
thou  faithful  unto  death ' ' — die  before  being  unfaith- 
ful— "and"— note  the  great  promise — " I  will  give 
thee  the  crown  of  life."  Now  such  were  the  men 
to  whom  Paul  paid  this  incomparable  compliment. 

Notice  here  also  the  means  that  they  employed  for 
sounding  out  this  word  of  God,  this  Gospel  of  life. 
The  context  explains  that  fully  for  us.     First  of  all, 
the  chief  means  for  sounding  out  this  conquering     ^ 
Gospel  was  that  such  Gospel  produced  in  debauched 
lives  the  most  marvelous  transformations.     There  is 
nothing  else  in  the  world  so  moving,  so  startling,  as 
for  a  man  to  be  soundly  converted  by  the  Gospel  ot 
God.     These  men  of  Thessalonica  were  converted  all 
over,  they  were  fundamentally  changed.     They  had  ' 
long  served  idols,   but  when  Paul's  Gospel  came  in, 
breaking  those  idols  into  dust,  presenting  Jesus,  the 
Way,  the  Truth,  and  the  Life,  the  Emancipator  of 
sin-driven  men,  the  Life-Bringer,  the  Hope-Giver — 
when  they  heard  that,  they  turned  away  from  their 


y 


60  TRUMPETING  THE  GOSPEL 

idols  to  serve  the  living  and  true  God,  and  to  wait 
for  His  Son  from  heaven,  whom  He  raised  from  the 
dead,  even  Jesus,  who  delivered  us  from  the  wrath 
to  come. 

There  is  nothing  so  wonderful  as  a  true  conversion, 
as  for  a  man  to  be  genuinely  saved.  We  are  hearing 
a  great  deal  these  days  about  all  manner  of  prescrip- 
tions for  advancing  Christianity.  They  are  telling  us 
much,  these  days,  about  ^'socializing  Christianity." 
I  am  shy  of  much  of  that  kind  of  talk.  ^The  greatest 
thing  in  the  world  is  for  the  individual  man  to  be 
saved  by  the  Gospel,  for  such  man  to  have  a  Divine 
power  to  come  into  his  life  and  turn  him  to  God. 
That  is  the  greatest  thing  in  the  world.  ?  The  best 
advertisement  for  this  Gospel  which  we  love  is  a  saved 
man,  living  his  religion.  That  is  the  supreme  adver- 
tisement. ^  Paul  said:  ''You  men  are  my  advertise- 
ment J  you  are  such  a  good  advertisement  I  do  not 
need  even  to  speak  anything."  Did  you  ever  hear 
of  a  more  wonderful  compliment  than  that  %  Oh,  this 
is  to  be  our  glory,  our  predominant  passion,  to  see 
men  saved,  to  see  men  converted  divinely  by  this 
glorious  Gospel,  transformed,  changed,  saved  ! 

I  have  told  you  before,  I  think,  of  the  most  remark- 
able conversion  I  ever  saw.  Will  you  bear  with  me 
while  I  tell  you  again  about  it?  The  occasion  was 
several  years  ago,  in  a  great  outdoor  Texas  meeting. 
Conditions  religiously  were  dreadfully  hard  and  bad 
where  such  meeting  was  held.  I  think  I  never  knew 
them  worse.  Men  with  white  locks  about  their  ears 
were  lost,  and  even  their  grandchildren  followed  in 
forbidden  and  ruinous  paths ;  and  the  few  people  of 
God  in  the  community  were  down  and  beaten  and  de 


TEUMPETING  THE  GOSPEL  61 

feated,  it  seemed.  One  of  the  causes  for  such  condi- 
tions was  that  a  group  of  men  had  had  a  series  of 
little,  pesky,  religious  debates,  and  the  result  was 
that  conditions  were  hard  and  harsh  and  bad  on 
every  side. 

All  these  things  were  recounted  in  the  preacher's 
ears,  as  he  began  the  meetings.  1  shall  never  forget 
the  repeated  story  of  the  people  there  concerning 
one  of  their  citizens,  a  man  known  for  a  radius  of 
hundreds  of  miles.  I  could  speak  his  name,  but  will 
not.  He  would  not  forbid  it,  for  I  could  speak  it  to 
God's  praise.  They  told  me  much  about  this  same  Big 
Jim.  They  said  :  *•  He  will  come  to  the  meeting  once 
this  year  ;  then  he  will  curse  you  and  the  meeting  out, 
and  curse  the  churches,  and  then  he  will  wait  another 
year  to  come  again.  That  is  his  style.  You  need 
not  waste  any  preaching  on  him."  They  described 
him  so  that  I  could  not  mistake  him — he  was  the 
largest  man  in  all  that  section.  One  night  I  stood  up 
to  preach,  and  in  came  Big  Jim.  I  shall  never  for- 
get the  emotions  that  then  possessed  me.  Here  was 
the  chief  of  sinners,  so  the  people  said  ;  what  could 
be  done  for  him  ? 

That  night  I  preached,  and  God's  Spirit  moved 
upon  the  audience  mightily,  and  men  with  their  white 
locks  and  stooped  shoulders  were,  like  little  children, 
that  night  turned  to  the  Saviour.  Grandfathers  that 
night  came,  who  had  walked  the  wrong  way  for  well- 
nigh  their  threescore  years  and  ten.  And  their  grand- 
children also  came.  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  was  upon 
us  in  marvelous  fashion  that  night. 

Yonder  sat  Big  Jim  like  a  granite  shaft.  And 
when  that  service  was  concluded,  a  little  group  of 


62  TEUMPETIKG  THE  GOSPEL 

people  stayed  behind  and  talked  with  one  anothei 
about  the  hour  just  past,  as  men  are  wont  to  talk  over 
such  an  occasion.  Ever  and  anon  they  would  refer 
to  Big  Jim.  They  said  :  ^'  He  was  here  to-night,  but 
he  won't  be  back."  One  said:  **I  believe  he  will 
return  ;  I  never  saw  him  look  as  he  looked  to-night." 
Another  said,  ''No;"  another  said,  "Yes."  Pres- 
ently after  I  had  left  the  tabernacle  to  find  the  cottage 
where  I  slept,  as  I  went  along  through  the  quiet 
woods,  I  heard  some  one  talking  in  the  darkness  of 
the  night.  I  did  not  mean  to  be  an  eavesdropper. 
There  were  two  of  them  talking,  oh,  so  earnestly. 
They  were  talking  to  God.  This  is  what  they  were 
saying:  "Mighty  God,  the  people  are  saying  that 
Big  Jim  is  too  much  for  Thee.  Oh,  break  to  pieces 
our  unbelief,  and  let  all  this  country  know  that  God 
is  Master  of  the  situation,  that  He  can  save  even  the 
chief  sinner  here  ! ' '  They  said  :  ' '  Master,  we  plead 
Thy  promise  to  Thy  disciples  about  two  who  may 
agree,  and  if  agreeing  concerning  anything  they 
should  ask.  Thou  wilt  hear.  We  agree  that  we  want 
Big  Jim  saved  for  the  glory  of  God,  and  to  stop  the 
mouths  of  gainsayers  once  and  forever  in  all  this 
section." 

I  quietly  went  my  way,  leaving  them  thus  on  theii 
knees.  They  did  not  know  that  I  had  heard  them, 
nor  do  I  know  who  they  were.  The  next  day  came 
and  wore  to  evening,  and  again  I  stood  up  to  preach, 
and  in  came  Big  Jim  again.  Yonder  he  sat  at  the 
rear  of  the  tabernacle;  and  then  I  said,  "Father, 
give  me  the  word  of  life  for  this  brother  man." 

I  told  the  story  of  the  prodigal  son,  that  restless, 
wayward  lad,  who  went  away  from  home  against  the 


TEUMPETING  THE  GOSPEL  63 

protest  of  love  and  wisdom's  voice,  and  who  went 
from  bad  to  worse,  and  down  and  down,  until  yonder 
he  is  in  the  swine  fields  eating  of  the  husks  wherewith 
he  fed  the  swine.  One  day  the  prodigal  became  home- 
sick and  soul -sick  and  he  said  :  "I  have  missed  it  all ; 
my  whole  life's  course  is  a  grim  sarcasm ;  I  have  missed 
it  all.  I  can  do  better  than  this  as  a  servant  in  my 
father's  house  ;  and  worst  of  all,  worst  of  all,  I  have 
sinned  against  my  best  friend,  I  have  sinned  against 
my  father  who  loved  me,  and  I  have  sinned  against 
my  father's  God.  I  will  go  back  and  I  will  tell  him 
all."  You  know  the  rest.  You  know  how  the  fa- 
ther, whose  heart  ached  forever  with  an  aching  that 
would  not  stop  because  the  boy  was  gone,  looked  one 
day  and  saw  him  coming,  and  while  he  was  yet  a 
great  way  off,  that  father  ran  to  meet  him  and  to  fold 
that  thing  of  rags  and  shame  to  his  heart,  while  the 
^oy  wept  and  said  :  '^  Father,  I  did  not  come  back  to 
'ciSk  to  be  your  boy,  but  to  tell  you  that  I  have  sinned 
against  you  and  heaven,  and  that  I  am  not  worthy  to 
be  called  your  son,  but  ask  only  to  have  a  servant's 
place."  And  the  father  said  :  ^'Kill  the  fatted  calf 
for  the  boy  returned ;  bring  him  the  best  robe  ;  put 
on  his  finger  the  ring — emblem  of  love  that  never 
dies."  That  was  what  I  preached.  And  then  I 
said:  ^'I  bring  you  a  Gospel  to  which  I  have  an- 
chored my  very  soul ;  I  am  willing  to  die  by  it,  and 
I  am  trying  to  live  by  it ;  I  am  going  to  meet  God 
with  it  when  I  stand  before  Him  in  the  judgment.  I 
came  one  day  and  surrendered  to  that  Saviour  whom 
God  the  Father  sent.  Is  there  a  man  here  who  will 
surrender  to  Him  now  ?  " 
Big  Jim  started  towards  the  preacher,  and  in  a  mo- 


64  TEUMPETING  THE  GOSPEL 

ment  half  a  thousand  men  were  seeing  him  and  all 
these  rose  to  their  feet.  Were  they  dreaming  1  Was 
it  too  good  to  be  true  1  They  were  on  their  feet,  look- 
ing, listening,  sobbing.  Down  that  long  aisle  came 
Big  Jim,  and  when  he  reached  me  he  caught  my 
hand  and  said  :  "I  put  you  on  your  sacred  honor — 
will  Jesus  Christ  save  me  if  I  give  up  to  Him  ?  "  I 
said  :  '^  On  my  sacred  honor,  I  answer  that  He  will.^^ 
And  then  he  looked  at  me  again  while  the  men,  who 
stood  all  about  us  now,  were  begging  him  to  yield  to 
Christ.  He  spoke  again  :  ^'But  you  must  remember 
that  I  am  the  worst  man  out  of  hell."  I  answered 
back:  ^'My  Saviour  died  for  the  worst  man  out  of 
hell,  and  He  is  able  to  save  him  now."  Once  more 
he  looked  at  me  and  said :  ''When  would  He  save 
me  if  I  were  to  surrender  myself  to  Him  right  now  ?  " 
I  said  :  ''On  the  authority  of  Jesus  Christ,  on  which 
I  have  rested  my  soul  for  time  and  eternity,  I  declare 
that  He  will  save  you  right  now,  and  you  yourself 
may  be  the  judge,  if  you  will  fully  surrender  to  Him 
now." 

Then  he  turned  that  great,  bronzed  face,  pitiful  in 
its  anguish,  up  towards  the  heavens,  and  gasped  this 
prayer:  ''Lord  Jesus,  the  worst  man  in  the  world 
gives  up  to  you  right  now  !  " 

I  cannot  tell  you  all  the  rest.  I  don't  know  that 
the  angels  could  tell  it  all.  But  God  unloosed  hia 
tongue,  and  Big  Jim  witnessed  for  Jesus  then  and 
there  as  I  never  heard  Him  witnessed  for  before  nor 
since.  Old  grizzled  meu  came  and  kissed  Big  Jim  ; 
and  old  women  came  and  kissed  him  ;  and  little  chil- 
dren  kissed  him,  for  the  chief  of  sinners  was  saved.  / 
And  then  the  word  went  to  and  fro  as  fast  as  tE* 


TRUMPETING  THE  GOSPEL  65 

winds  could  carry  it  that  God  was  in  the  midst  of  the 
people  forgiving  sin. 

Gentlemen,  one  such  apologetic  as  that  for  Chris- 
tianity sounds  out  the  gospel  word  both  far  and  near 
as  can  nothing  else  in  all  the  earth.  We  will  stay 
by  the  simple,  old-fashioned,  supreme  vocation  of 
Christ's  church,  and  that  is  to  win  men  to  God. 
That  is  the  biggest  thing  in  all  the  world.  And 
when  that  is  done,  light  will  spread  and  darkness 
will  flee,  and  righteousness  will  follow.  That  was 
the  way  the  Gospel  of  old  was  made  victorious.  Men 
were  converted  to  God  and  others  soon  heard  the 
gladsome  news,  and  themselves  were  led  to  ask  the 
way  of  life. 

Then,  again,  these  Thessalonians,  by  their  lives, 
attested  their  profession.  Their  profession  was  vin- 
dicated by  their  lives.  Paul  said:  '^Your  life  has 
been  so  glorious,  you  have  been  such  an  inspiration, 
such  a  blessing,  such  an  example  to  all  the  people 
throughout  all  Greece,  north  and  south,  that  I  do  not 
3ven  need  to  say  a  word  in  defense  of  the  Gospel, 
fou  are  the  Gospel  embodied,  you  are  the  Gospel  in- 
carnated in  lives,  you  are  the  Gospel  lighting  up  a 
house  that  was  once  inhabited  by  black  evil  things, 
and  now  shines  to  the  praise  of  God."  Their  lives 
attested  their  profession. 

Here  is  the  best  argument  for  Christianity :  The 
right  kind  of  a  Christian — mark  you,  the  right  kind 
of  a  Christian.  He  is  the  one  unanswerable,  in- 
vulnerable argument  for  Christianity  in  this  world— 
the  right  kind  of  a  Christian.  These  men  said, 
wherever  they  went  throughout  Greece,  north  and 
south,  all  through  Macedonia^  all  through  Achaia, 


66  TEUMPETING  THE  GOSPEL 

wherever  they  went,  they  said :  **  We  were  de- 
bauched, we  were  bad,  we  were  enslaved,  we  were 
handicapped  by  sin,  we  were  depraved.  We  ac- 
cepted Christ,  and  He  changed  our  natures  ;  we  are 
now  new  men."  And  their  lives  said  it  much  louder 
than  anything  their  lips  could  say.  That  is  the  power 
of  the  Gospel. 

Oh,  my  fellow  Christians,  that  is  its  irresistible 
power.  You  can  feel  some  men,  the  Christian  ele- 
ment in  them  is  so  strong.  That  was  the  glory  of 
Phillips  Brooks.  You  could  not  analyze  his  preach- 
ing, it  is  often  said,  but  you  could  feel  him.  That 
was  the  glory  of  Robert  E.  Lee,  that  matchless  man  of 
Southern  history.  That  was  the  glory  of  William 
Pitt,  Prime  Minister  of  Great  Britain.  That  was  the 
glory  of  Washington,  Father  of  His  Country.  That 
is  the  glory  of  many  a  little  modest  man,  and  many  a 
little  shrinking  woman,  whose  life  is  radiant  with  the 
sunlight  of  sincerity,  and  with  a  glorious  enduement 
of  God^s  goodness  and  truth  and  grace.  These  men 
of  old  thus  lived  their  religion. 

There  was  another  thing  that  was  conquering  in 
their  Christian  character,  and  that  was  their  faith 
was  as  clear  as  the  sunlight,  and  as  enduring  as  a 
granite  mountain.  Their  faith — what  a  vital  word  is 
that !  What  a  vital  word  that  is  for  these  times,  with 
all  the  theological  millinery  we  have  about  us,  and  all 
the  fads  and  fancies,  the  cults  and  innovations  ! 
Their  faith  was  as  clear  as  the  sunlight,  as  unshak- 
able as  Gibraltar.  These  men  knew  what  they  be- 
lieved, and  why,  and  they  were  able  to  give  to  every 
man  they  met  an  answer  for  that  marvelous  hope  that 
illumined  their  way,  and  transformed  their  lives. 


TEUMPETING  THE  GOSPEL  67 

I  would  summon  you  to-day,  my  fellow  Christians, 
to  be  clear  in  your  faith.  Know  what  you  believe 
concerning  the  things  of  religion,  and  why.  The 
man  who  speaks  with  the  accent  of  sincerity  and 
definiteness  is  the  man  of  power.  Eemember  the 
apostle's  question  :  *'If  the  trumpet  give  an  uncer-  ^- 
tain  sound '^ — (and  remember  we  are  trumpets  for 
Christ) — "if  the  trumpet  give  an  uncertain  sound, 
who  shall  prepare  himself  to  the  battle?"  Your 
testimony  for  God  is  to  be  clear  and  unhesitating  and 
certain.  Alas !  that  some  Christiaus  in  their  faith 
are  like  Eeuben  of  old,  unstable  as  water,  and  like 
him,  too,  it  maybe  said  of  each  of  them:  "Thou  \^ 
Shalt  not  excel."  Be  clear  in  your  faith.  Don't  be 
religious  mugwumps.  Jesus  was  the  very  Prince  ol 
dogmatists,  and  His  apostles  after  Him  were  to  the 
last  degree  dogmatic  in  their  faith.  Listen  to  Peter  : 
* '  Neither  is  there  salvation  in  any  other ;  for  there  is 
none  other  name  under  heaven  given  among  men, 
whereby  we  must  be  saved."  That  is  dogmatic. 
Listen  to  John,  that  disciple  of  love  and  gentleness.  ^ 
"Who  is  the  liar,  but  he  that  denieth  that  Jesus  is  the 
Christ  ?  This  is  the  anti- Christ,  even  he  that  denieth 
the  Father  and  the  Son."  Listen  to  Paul:  "But 
though  we,  or  an  angel  from  heaven,  preach  any 
other  gospel  unto  you  than  that  we  have  preached 
unto  you,  let  him  be  accursed."  And  to  increase  the 
emphasis,  he  repeats  it  in  the  next  verse.  Oh,  my 
fellow  Christians,  on  this  tremendous  matter  of 
religious  faith  we  want  to  be  as  clear  as  the  sun- 
light, and  as  unshakable  as  the  everlasting  hills. 
"  ^Tis  conviction  that  convinces." 

Take  Carl  Marx.     He  is  the  most  dogmatic  and 


68  TRUMPETING  THE  GOSPEL 

pronounced  personality  that  Germany  has  produced 
in  a  hundred  years — that  noted  Socialist  leader. 
Mighty  passions  and  convictions  and  beliefs  have 
surged  in  his  life,  and  he  has  put  the  stamp  of  his 
forceful  personality  throughout  all  Germany  and 
Europe,  and  the  world.  Certainly  you  do  not  agree 
and  I  do  not  agree  with  many  of  his  teachings ;  but 
when  a  man  with  the  passion  and  the  conviction  and 
the  personality  and  the  power  of  Carl  Marx  goes 
across  the  world,  men  will  feel  him.  And  there  are 
ten  thousand  fires  burning  in  human  hearts  to-day  be- 
cause Carl  Marx  believed  something.  And  the  world 
is  studying  this  hour,  in  a  way  never  before,  the 
teachings  of  Socialism,  because  Carl  Marx  believed 
something. 

Take  the  Eoman  Catholic  Church.  She  has  two 
special  dogmas,  which,  both  in  season,  and  out  of  sejv 
son,  she  proclaims  :  The  dogma  of  the  church,  and  the 
dogma  of  the  mass.  We  cannot  in  the  remotest  de- 
gree accept  her  teachings  concerning  the  church  and 
concerning  the  mass ;  and  yet  that  great  body  con 
cerning  which  I  would  not  willingly  say  one  im- 
proper or  unjust  word — that  great  body  goes  through 
the  earth  proclaiming  that  the  church  should  be 
supreme  in  the  regulation  of  all  human  conduct,  in 
the  home,  in  society,  in  things  political,  everywhere. 
Tou  stand  amazed,  as  do  I,  that  such  dogma  should 
have  advocates.  And  you  are  the  more  amazed  at 
their  other  dogma  that  simple  bread  and  wine  are 
actually  changed  into  the  very  body  and  blood  of 
Jesus,  their  doctrine  of  transubstantiatiou,  after  the 
blessing  of  such  bread  and  wine,  by  the  proper 
ecclesiastic.     And  yet  that  mighty  ecclesiasticism, 


TEUMPETING  THE  GOSPEL  69 

through  the  centuries,  has  boldly  taught  these  two 
dogmas,  and  has  put  the  impress  of  such  teachings  in 
every  land  beneath  the  stars.  They  believe  some- 
thing— that  explains  it.  I  honor  them,  while  utterly 
differing  from  them,  for  persisting  evermore  in  urg- 
ing those  amazing  dogmas,  because  they  believe 
them. 

And  in  the  other  days,  when  Martin  Luther,  that 
immortal  Protestant,  who  before  was  a  Catholic 
priest,  came  to  believe  the  God-honoring  doctrine 
that  men  are  not  justified  by  human  works,  nor  by 
human  righteousness  of  any  sort,  but  that  they  are 
justified  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  Luther  went  out 
and — aforetime  a  devout  Eomanist — Luther  went  out 
and  proclaimed  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith 
in  such  a  way  that  he  wrested  Germany  from  the 
hands  of  the  Pope,  and  thrilled  the  world  with  his 
mighty  pronouncement  of  Protestantism.  He  be- 
lieved something,  and  he  avowed  it.  When  he  had 
determined  to  go  to  the  Diet  of  Worms,  and  men 
tried  to  keep  him  from  going  because  he  would  go 
in  the  face  of  probable  death,  together  with  every 
threatened  punishment,  he  answered  them  back : 
''If  there  were  as  many  devils  as  there  are  tiles  on 
every  roof  in  Wurtemberg,  I  can  but  go  and  say  what 
my  soul  knows  to  be  true.^'     He  believed  something. 

My  fellow  men,  let  us  have  a  faith  that  does  not 
change  with  every  change  of  the  moon.  John  Knox 
put  his  marvelous  personality  on  Scotland  and  on 
every  other  land  beneath  the  sun  because  he  believed 
something.  He  rescued  Scotland  from  the  grip  of 
unbelief  because  he  believed  something.  And  John 
Knox's  daughter,  Jane  Welch,  when  they  offered  her 


70  TEUMPETING  THE  GOSPEL 

her  husband^  s  freedom  if  he  would  recant,  answered 
like  this:  ^*I  would  sooner  have  my  husband's 
severed  head  brought  me  in  a  charger  than  for  him 
to  deny  the  things  he  has  taught  and  believed."  Oh, 
for  a  generation  of  great  believers  I 

But  there  was  another  all  important  thing  about 
these  early  Christians.  They  attested  their  faith  by 
their  deeds.  They  proved  their  religion  by  their 
worka.  They  vindicated  their  hope  by  their  deeds. 
That  is  the  apologetic  that  we  must  have— just  that. 
All  my  time  could  be  spent  on  that  one  simple  point. 
But  I  leave  it  after  referring  to  just  one  incident  in 
the  life  of  David  Brainerd.  That  Christly  missionary 
to  the  Indians,  when  he  became  so  old  and  weak  and 
crippled  with  rheumatism  that  it  seemed  that  there 
was  nothing  else  that  he  could  do  but  wait  there  in 
his  little  hut  and  die,  was  found  one  day  kneeling  on 
the  floor,  too  feeble  to  sit  in  his  chair,  teaching  a  little 
Indian  girl  her  A  B  C's.  And  men  said  :  *^  What ! 
Has  it  come  to  this?  The  great  David  Brainerd 
down  on  the  floor  teaching  a  little  Indian  girl  her 
A  B  C's  ! "  And  he  said  :  ''  Happy  if  with  my  latest 
breath  I  may  but  be  permitted  even  to  teach  a  little 
Indian  girl  her  A  B  O's." 

You  will  make  the  application,  won't  you,  of  this 
old-time  text?  Every  church,  I  remarked  in  the 
beginning,  is  to  be  a  trumpet  for  Jesus  Christ — to 
voice  the  word  and  love  of  Jesus  Christ.  My  beloved 
people  here  of  this  flock,  you  will  make  the  applica- 
tion. The  church  at  Thessalonica  was  inevitably 
situated  to  influence  many  people.  How  like  youi 
own  !  Thessalonica  was  a  city  of  telling  commerce. 
How  like  your  own  city  here  !    The  roads  were  manj 


TRUMPETING  THE  GOSPEL  71 

that  came  and  went  to  Thessalonica.  How  like  your 
own  !  And  the  blows  struck  for  Jesus  Christ  yon- 
der in  Thessalonica  sounded  out  throughout  all  the 
province  of  Macedonia.  Even  so,  a  light  here  prop- 
erly given  will  send  its  rays  far  and  near.  A 
testimony  here  properly  given  will  go  far  beyond 
your  own  circles.  Like  Paul,  who  was  a  patriot,  as 
every  man  ought  to  be,  you  can  say  to-day  :  ^'  I  am 
a  citizen  of  no  mean  city. "  And  by  reason  of  that 
very  position  that  you  have,  you  are  called  upon  to 
sound  out  the  word  of  life,  of  righteousness  and  truth 
in  every  blessed  and  glorious  way. 

God  has  providentially  thrust  you  into  an  exceed- 
ingly responsible  place.  Do  not  shrink  from  it.  Oh, 
certainly  there  are  times  when  you  want  to  flee  to  the 
woods  never  to  come  back,  but  you  can't.  God  has 
providentially  thrust  you  into  the  gaze  of  the  people, 
far  and  near,  and  you  are  called  upon  all  the  more  to 
witness  worthily  for  Jesus  Christ.  Here  in  Dallas 
are  several  of  our  denominational  Boards.  Here  is 
your  State  Mission  Board  doing  the  largest  state 
mission  work  in  all  the  world.  Here  also  is  your 
Woman's  Work,  in  its  official  organization.  Here 
also  is  your  Young  People's  Board.  Here  is  your 
denominational  paper.  Here  is  your  great  Sanita- 
rium. Then  God  has  given  us  this  noble  church, 
with  her  more  than  two  thousand  members.  What 
a  host  of  people  !  And  your  fear  sometimes  is  as 
mine,  that  this  church  will  be  a  hospital  of  people 
not  active,  instead  of  a  barrack  of  soldiers  aggressive 
for  God. 

And  then  think  of  the  army  of  strangers  within 
our  gates.     I  have  often  wondered  if  our  ministry  to 


72  TEUMPETING  THE  GOSPEL 

the  strangers  is  not  broader  than  our  ministry  to  oui 
own  homes  and  firesides ;  for  scarcely  a  day  passes 
that  some  stranger  near  or  far  does  not  write  to 
give  grateful  testimony  to  the  blessing  brought 
him  in  this  worship  with  us  here.  By  all  these 
facts  we  are  called  upon  to  be  the  right  kind  of 
men  and  women.  Then  see  our  various  church 
agencies  of  this  one  church.  See  the  Sunday-school, 
the  supreme  opportunity  of  the  church.  To  save 
a  boy  is  an  incomparably  bigger  thing  than  to  save 
a  man.  To  save  a  girl  is  more  important  than 
to  save  a  woman,  for  you  save  a  life  as  well  as  a 
soul  when  you  save  a  child.  Here  too  are  our  or- 
ganizations for  our  hosts  of  young  people.  Here  too 
are  the  multitudes  of  women  with  their  many  and 
mighty  forces.  There  is  nothing  more  pitiful  than 
for  a  woman  saved  through  the  blood  of  Christ  tc 
have  her  energies  diverted  into  some  little,  narrow 
shallow  channel  of  selfishness,  to  gratify  some  smal^^ 
passing  impulse.  Some  time  ago  a  cultured  woman 
came  to  her  pastor,  not  in  Dallas,  I  am  glad  to 
remark,  to  say  there  was  a  Buddhist  lecturer  in  the 
city,  and  to  ask  if  the  pastor  would  not  let  the 
Buddhist  lecturer  have  the  pulpit  from  which  to  ex- 
ploit Buddhism.  The  pastor  was  amazed  beyoL^  all 
speech,  and  said  so,  that  a  woman,  given  her  position 
in  this  country,  of  happiness  and  honor — given  such 
position  by  Jesus  Christ — would  wish  her  pastor  to 
offer  his  pulpit  for  the  exploitation  of  Buddhism, 
when  a  woman  in  Buddhist  countries  slavishly  waits 
on  her  husband,  is  not  worthy  to  eat  at  the  same 
table  with  him,  gets  such  crumbs  only  as  he  chooses 
to  give,  and  is  taught  that  she  does  not  have  any  soul 


TEUMPETING  THE  GOSPEL  73 

at  all.  What  a  tragedy  it  is  when  a  woman,  whose 
chief  charm  is  her  religion,  is  diverted  from  her 
church  life  into  little,  shallow,  narrow  channels  of 
til  ought  and  activity.  What  a  tragedy  when  her  life 
is  taken  up  with  religious  cults  and  fads  and  isms, 
and  the  deep  practical  things  of  Christianity  are 
forgotten. 

I  summon  the  Christian  women  who  are  here  to- 
day, given  their  incomparable  position  by  the  blood 
of  the  Sou  of  God — I  summon  them  to  give  their 
best  to  Jesus  Christ  and  to  His  church.  And  these 
men,  these  saved  men,  I  summon  them  to  give  their 
best  to  Jesus  and  His  church.  My  fellow  men,  if 
Jesus  Christ  loved  the  church  enough  to  die  for  it, 
you  audi  surely  ought  to  love  it  enough  to  live  for  it. 
There  are  two  great  organizations  in  the  world — there 
are  not  many  that  are  worth  a  great  deal ;  there  are 
two  that  are  absolutely  invaluable,  the  home  and  the 
church.  If  you  and  I  are  to  plant  our  labors  in  life 
where  they  will  count  for  the  most,  then  let  us  conse- 
crate our  best  labors  for  the  home  and  for  the  church. 
The  home  has  been  wretchedly  neglected.  I  might 
mention  a  host  of  agencies  at  work  for  the  redemp- 
tion of  children  that  would  have  been  made  unneces- 
sary by  the  right  kind  of  homes.  The  church  also 
Vas  been  sadly  neglected. 

It  is  a  day  of  organizations  now.  Sometimes  I  have 
wondered  if  some  men  could  find  enough  space  on 
their  coats  to  put  all  the  buttons  of  the  various 
organizations  to  which  they  belong.  I  have  not  a 
word  of  railing  to  say  against  such  organizations,  but 
I  would  say,  my  fellow  Christian  men,  that  in  these 
short  lives  that  you  and  I  are  to  live,  we  ought  to 


T4  TEUMPETING  THE  GOSPEL 

link  our  lives  with  those  organizations  that  will  count 
the  most,  and  with  the  organizations  that  are  of  most 
vital  value  to  a  needy  world.  Let  us  invest  our 
lives,  our  love,  our  money,  our  service,  not  so  that 
the  fruits  and  influences  therefrom  shall  be  evanes- 
cent like  some  passing  cloud  of  the  morning,  but  so 
that  they  may  abide  through  all  the  coming  years 
and  forevermore.  I  summon  you  to  give  your  best 
to  Christ,  your  best  to  Christ  to-day  and  always. 

I  have  been  with  you  many  years.  Oh,  I  know 
the  stress  and  the  travail  of  th^  preacher's  life.  I 
have  gone  to  my  room  a  thousand  times  and  asked 
God  if  I  might  be  released  from  it  all ;  and  then  the 
instant  the  words  escaped  my  lips  I  have  hastened 
to  say  :  ^'  Nay,  Lord,  nay,  only  give  me  grace  to  be 
the  preacher  I  ought  to  be  ! "  Every  waking  hour  I 
sing : 

"  Happy  if  with  my  latest  breath, 
I  may  but  speak  Thy  name  ; 
Preach  Christ  to  all,  and  gasp  in  death, 
Behold,  behold  the  Lamb." 

My  grandfather  was  a  preacher  through  the  long, 
long  years.  In  his  last  illness  his  affliction  was  such 
that  he  could  not  lie  on  his  bed  for  one  moment  for 
many  days.  But  people  came  to  him  for  a  region  of 
forty  or  fifty  miles,  and  there  sitting  in  his  chair, 
with  his  last  expiring  breath,  he  preached  Christ 
Jesus,  the  world's  one  and  only,  but  all-sufflcient 
Saviour.  I  should  like  to  go  like  that  to  the  last,  to 
the  last,  witnessing  for  Jesus.  O  my  fellow  Chris- 
tians, I  summon  you  to  give  Christ  your  best  of  love, 
of  service,  of  life.     His  is  the  most  virile,  the  most 


TEUMPETING  THE  GOSPEL  75 

masculine,  the  most  heroic,  the  sublimest  business  on 
earth — the  making  of  His  Gospel  victorious  every- 
where. Give  Him  your  best,  your  best,  your  best, 
forevermore. 

O  my  fellow  Christians  of  this  church,  a  church 
dearer  to  me  than  my  heart's  blood,  God  knows — my 
fellow  Christians  of  this  church,  I  summon  you  anew 
to-day  to  give  your  best  to  Christ ;  to  be  done  with 
all  playing  at  your  religion  ;  to  be  done  with  all 
lukewarmness.  I  summon  you  to  come  with  the  red 
rich  blood  of  human  sympathy  for  all  mankind,  for 
good  and  bad,  for  high  and  low,  for  rich  and  poor, 
and  give  your  best  to  win  this  city  and  state  and 
world  to  Jesus,  so  that  you  may  hear  that  plaudit 
which  it  were  worth  worlds  at  last  to  hear,  *^Well 
done,  thou  good  and  faithful  servant." 


IV 

A  New  Testament  Good  Man 

Text:  **He  was  a  good  man,  and  full  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  and  of  faith  ;  and  much  people  was 
added  to  the  Lord." — Acts  xi.  24. 

THIS  is  Luke's  description  of  Barnabas.  A 
name  is  often  the  mirror  of  the  nature  be- 
hind the  name.  Barnabas  means  ^ '  the  son 
of  consolation."  This  name  was  given  him  by  the 
apostles  to  indicate  the  kind  of  man  that  they  esteemed 
him  to  be,  and  that  he  really  was.  Luke's  descrip- 
tion of  Barnabas  is  one  of  the  briefest,  and  yet,  at  the 
same  time,  one  of  the  most  comprehensive  ever  given 
<3oncerning  any  life.  ^'  He  was  a  good  man,  and  full 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  of  faith  j  and  much  people 
was  added  unto  the  Lord." 

It  is  the  Bible  portrait  of  one  of  the  most  useful 
men  of  which  the  Scriptures  give  any  account.  *'  He 
was  a  good  man,  and  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  of 
faith."  This  word  ^'  good  "  employed  here  by  Luke 
is  not  accidentally  employed.  It  is  the  very  word 
that  Luke  meant  to  use.  When  he  characterized 
Barnabas  as  a  good  man,  he  meant  exactly  what  he 
said.  You  search  in  vain  in  the  Bible  for  many 
tributes  as  high  as  i?  this  tribute  paid  by  Luke  to 
Barnabas.  The  Bible  is  very  careful  about  its  tributes 
to  men.    Now  and  then  there  are  the  outflashings  of 

76 


A  NEW  TESTAMENT  GOOD  MAN         77 

commendation  and  of  approval,  of  splendid  tributes 
to  men  in  the  Bible,  but  yet  not  as  many  as  you 
might  at  first  suppose.  Exceedingly  careful  is  the 
Bible  about  the  use  of  this  word  **good,"  as  applied 
to  any  man  or  to  any  thing.  Luke,  however,  did  not 
misuse  it.  He  meant  to  use  this  word,  and  it  is 
exactly  the  right  word.  We  are  very  careless  about 
our  use  of  that  word  ^^good.'^  It  is  a  very  strong 
word,  and  should  not  be  hawked  about  with  careless, 
indiscriminate  use.  We  often  talk  about  a  '^good 
man,"  when  he  comes  far  short  of  being  a  good  man. 
And  the  world  talks  about  '^  good  fellows,"  meaning, 
maybe,  that  they  are  genial,  or  that  they  treat  people 
to  a  cigar,  or  something  a  good  deal  more  hurtful 
than  a  cigar  ;  meaning  that  they  are  hale  fellows  well 
met,  and  not  meaning  good  in  any  blessed  sense  at 
all.  Luke,  when  he  uses  the  word  ' '  good '  ^  with 
reference  to  Barnabas,  uses  the  right  word.  He  did 
not  mean,  to  be  sure,  that  Barnabas  was  a  perfect 
man.  He  would  have  badly  missed  it  if  he  had  made 
any  such  claim  for  Barnabas.  We  read  further  along 
in  the  story  of  this  man  Barnabas  how  he  missed  per- 
fection quite  badly.  You  recall  that  he  and  the 
noble  Paul  had  a  ''  sharp  contention  "  one  day.  Hot 
words  followed.  I  do  not  know  which  was  to  blame 
— perhaps  both.  It  is  generally  that  way.  When 
there  is  a  serious  difficulty,  generally  two  people  are 
to  blame  instead  of  just  one.  At  any  rate,  in  this 
case,  sharp  words  were  spoken  by  these  two  men.  It 
was  a  "  sharp  contention,'^  so  the  Scriptures  describe 
it,  and  then  they  parted  asunder,  one  going  his  way, 
and  the  other  his.  So  there  is  the  revelation  of  the 
fact  that  this  man  was  not  any  perfect  man.   The  Bible 


78         A  NEW  TESTAMENT  GOOD  MAN 

does  not  make  any  such  claim  for  any  man.  It 
distinctly  repudiates  that  claim.  *'  If  we  say  that  we 
have  no  sin,  we  deceive  ourselves,  and  the  truth  is 
not  in  us."  '*  There  is  not  a  just  man  upon  the  earth 
that  doeth  good,  and  sinneth  not."  But  when  the 
Bible  speaks  of  a  good  man  it  looks  at  the  tenor  of 
his  life,  at  the  great,  absorbing,  all-controlling  drift 
and  tendency  of  his  being,  and  with  that  view  Barna- 
bas measured  up  nobly,  for  he  was  a  good  man.  The 
Bible  speaks  of  David  as  a  man  *' after  God's  own 
heart."  Did  it  mean  that  he  was  perfect  ?  Alas  !  it 
meant  nothing  of  the  sort.  He  was  far  from  perfect. 
Three  of  the  most  fearful  crimes  in  all  the  catalogue 
of  crimes  are  laid  at  the  door  of  this  man  David.  He 
was  a  traitor.  Can  there  be  anything  much  more 
heinous  than  to  be  a  traitor  ?  David  was  a  murderer. 
The  blood  of  another  man's  hands  was  on  his  own. 
He  was  an  adulterer.  Treachery,  murder,  adultery  ! 
These  three  black  crimes,  so  closely  linked  with  one 
another,  were  laid  at  David's  door.  Did  the  Bible 
mean  to  indicate  that  he  was  a  man  without  blemish 
or  sin?  Nothing  of  the  sort.  It  meant  that  in 
David's  life,  taken  as  a  whole,  there  was  a  strug- 
gle and  an  inclination  after  the  good,  and  despite 
the  fearful  sins  into  which  he  was  so  suddenly 
plunged,  indescribably  awful,  David  did  feel  out 
after  the  good,  and  after  the  will  of  God.  And  you 
will  make  a  fundamental  mistake  in  studying  the  life 
of  David  if  you  leave  out  of  it  his  incomparable  con- 
fession in  the  Fifty-first  Psalm.  Never  has  there 
been  penned  a  confession  of  sin  as  deep  as  that  in  the 
Fifty-first  Psalm.  Note  some  of  its  utterances: 
"Have  mercy  upon  me,  O  God,  aceording  to  Thy 


A  NEW  TESTAMENT  GOOD  MAN         79 

ioviDg  kindness.  According  unto  the  multitude  of 
Thy  tender  mercies,  blot  out  all  my  transgressions. 

"Wash  me  thoroughly  from  mine  iniquity,  and 
cleanse  me  from  my  sins  j  for  I  acknowledge  my 
transgiessions  j  and  my  sin  is  ever  before  me. 
Against  Thee,  Thee  only,  have  I  sinned,  and  done 
this  evil  in  Thy  sight. 

"Purge  me  with  hyssop  and  I  shall  be  clean. 
Wash  me  and  I  shall  be  whiter  than  snow.  Thou 
desirest  not  sacrifice,  else  would  I  give  it  j  Thou  de- 
lightest  not  in  burnt  offering.  The  sacrifices  of  God 
are  a  broken  spirit ;  a  broken  and  a  contrite  heart, 
O  God,  Thou  wilt  not  despise.'* 

There  Dcver  was  a  confession  penned  in  the  world 
that  was  as  deep  as  is  the  confession  of  David  in  this 
Psalm.  So  you  will  altogether  misinterpret  the  real 
character  of  David  if  you  do  not  include  him  in  the 
Fifty-first  Psalm.  The  Bible  nowhere  means  to  in- 
timate that  any  man  is  sinless  in  the  flesh.  Luke 
does  not  mean  it  here. 

Luke  goes  on  after  employing  this  word  *  ^  good ' ' 
with  reference  to  Barnabas,  and  pictures  his  char- 
acter still  further  :  "He  was  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
and  of  faith. ' '  This  indicates  his  spiritual  intensity 
—"full  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  "Full,"  that  is,  he 
was  God-possessed.  He  was  filled  with  the  Divine 
Spirit.  And  that  explains  the  spiritual  life  that  he 
lived,  as  it  was  crowned  with  noble  deeds.  Have 
you  sometimes  seen  a  noble  river  bed,  wide  and 
deep,  and  yet  the  drought  has  come,  and  the  water 
has  become  lower,  and  the  stream  is  narrower  and 
thinner,  and  all  along  in  the  river  bed  trash  accumu- 
lates, and  evil  things  hide  and  lurk  ?    What  a  piC' 


80        A  NEW  TESTAMENT  GOOD  MAN 

ture  is  that  of  the  religious  life  largely  devoid  of  the 
Spirit  of  God.  And  then  have  you  seen  that  river 
bed  filled  with  water  ?  The  heavens  have  emptied 
their  abundant  rains,  and  the  waters  have  accumu- 
lated and  gathered  until  that  great  bed  is  filled  to 
overflowing,  and  all  the  accumulated  trash  is  swept 
before  that  mighty  stream,  as  it  rolls  on  to  the  sea. 
That  is  the  picture  of  Barnabas.  He  was  full  to 
overflowing  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Men  may  to-day  be 
full  of  the  Holy  Ghost  just  as  Bar d abas  was.  Men 
may  have,  and  ought  to  have  their  lives  guided  and 
dominated  to-day  by  the  Spirit  of  God  as  really  as 
did  Barnabas.  It  is  all  a  mistake  that  God's  people 
may  not  have  the  guidance  and  the  power  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  to-day,  even  as  they  had  it  in  the  olden 
time.  I  do  not  speak,  of  course,  of  the  unusual  signs 
that  were  sometimes  in  the  Spirit's  workings,  in  the 
apostolic  times,  but  I  do  speak  of  the  vitally  essential 
fact  of  the  Spirit  in  the  Christian's  life  to  give  guid- 
ance and  wisdom  and  light  and  power  and  strength. 
Without  His  help,  all  our  work  is  utterly  futile. 
We  may  daily  have  His  help  if  we  rightly  ask  for  it. 
Barnabas  was  also  full  of  faith.  The  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  was  no  empty  abstraction  to  Barnabas.  He 
was  no  visionary,  far-off  theory.  Jesus  was  real  to 
Barnabas.  He  looked  to  Him  to  save  him,  and  then 
he  looked  to  Him  to  be  the  inspiration  and  guide  of 
his  whole  life.  Christ  was  gloriously  real.  His 
claims  were  real.  His  purposes  in  the  world  were 
real.  The  conquering  power  of  His  kingdom  among 
men,  these  all  were  vitally  real  to  Barnabas.  He 
was  "full  of  faith,"  as  well  as  ''full  of  the  Holjf 
Ghost."    And  men  of  heroic  faith  move  the  world. 


A  NEW  TESTAMENT  GOOD  MAN        81 

Abraham  was  a  mau  of  such  faith.  Sitting  yonder 
under  the  oaks  of  Mamre,  Abraham  was  the  might- 
iest mau  of  his  time,  because  he  implicitly  believed 
God.  Paul  was  a  mau  of  such  faith,  and  no  man 
about  him  could  compare  with  him,  because  he  be- 
lieved God.  Since  Barnabas  was  a  man  "full  of 
faith,"  as  well  as  ''  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost,"  you  are 
prepared  for  Luke's  further  statement:  "Much 
people  was  added  unto  the  Lord."  Given  a  man 
with  such  a  character,  with  such  a  basis,  and  you 
are  prepared  for  the  result,  ' '  Much  people  added 
unto  the  Lord,"  as  the  outcome  of  his  labors. 

And,  now,  let  us  look  a  little  more  carefully  to  see 
the  evidences,  the  fruits,  the  proofs,  that  Barnabas 
was  the  good  man,  the  spiritual  man,  that  Luke  de- 
scribes him  to  be.  What  are  these  fruits  ?  There 
are  several  that  appear  right  on  the  surface  of  the 
Scriptures.  Here  is  the^jgt  ;  Baruabas_was  a  man 
of  the  noblest  generosity.  That  is  our  first  intro- 
duction to  him.  Back  there  in  that  remarkable 
meeting  that  was  sweeping  the  Jerusalem  church, 
and  in  which  Barnabas  was  brought  to  Christ,  the 
very  first  revelation  we  have  of  this  man  Barnabas 
was  an  expression  of  the  noblest  generosity  of  which 
he  was  capable.  The  Scriptures  say  that  having 
land,  he  sold  it  and  brought  the  price  thereof  and 
laid  it  down  at  the  apostles'  feet,  and  joined  himself 
from  that  hour  to  the  company  of  believers,  and  from 
that  hour  went  out  a  poor  man,  like  Paul.  Surely 
that  is  a  practical  evidence  that  he  was  a  good  man. 
Can  a  very  covetous  man  be  much  of  a  good  man  ? 
It  will  pinch  him  to  be  a  good  man  at  all.  Can  a 
miserly,  stingy,  penurious^  hard-fisted  man  be  a  goocJ 


82         A  NEW  TESTAMENT  GOOD  MAN 

man  ?  Won't  it  drive  him  to  the  last  ditch  to  begin 
to  make  such  a  claim  as  that  ?  He  may  be  clever. 
He  may  be  smart.  He  may  be  witty.  He  may  be 
aggressive.  He  may  be  inflaential.  He  may  be 
powerful.  But  is  he  a  good  man?  So  the  very 
first  fruits,  the  very  first  intimation  of  the  character 
of  this  man  Barnabas  is  voiced  in  Luke's  descrip- 
tion, given  in  the  fourth  chapter  of  Acts,  of  his 
noble  expression  of  generosity  in  the  gift  of  his 
goods  to  the  cause  of  Christ.  I  pause  on  that  a  mo- 
ment more.  The  bondage  of  money  is  the  most  self- 
ish bondage  that  ever  puts  its  grip  on  the  human 
heart.  There  are  fearful  expressions  of  bondage 
otherwise  j  the  bondage  of  some  awful  habit,  the 
bondage  to  lust,  the  bondage  to  this  thing  or  that, 
fearful  expressions  of  bondage  here  and  there,  as  you 
can  think  of  them  now.  But  the  most  galling  and 
selfish  of  all  the  expressions  of  bondage  the  world 
ever  heard  of  is  the  bondage  to  money.  Oh,  I 
tremble  for  every  Christian  that  I  ever  see  rapidly 
making  money  !  Nor  do  I  stop  at  trembling.  God 
is  my  witness.  As  a  matter  of  conscience,  I  pray  for 
every  such  person,  that  he  may  not  be  drowned  with 
the  love  of  money,  for  it  is  the  root  of  every  kind  oi 
evil  in  the  world.  This  man  Barnabas  was  a  mavt 
that  mastered  his  money,  and  any  man  who  masters 
his  money  is  the  master  of  the  situation.  Any  man 
whose  money  masters  him  is  the  most  fearful  slave 
that  to-day  cringes  before  any  altar  in  the  world. 
And,  remember,  a  man  may  be  mastered  by  a  few 
hundred  dollars  as  well  as  by  a  million.  A  man 
with  just  a  few  hundred  dollars  is  often  pulled 
around  by  the  nose  just  as  really  as  the  man  of 


A  NEW  TESTAMENT  GOOD  MAN         83 

millions.  It  was  a  most  meaningful  thing  when, 
years  ago,  in  one  of  the  large  churches,  some- 
body sent  from  the  audience  a  little  note  to  the 
preacher,  saying:  "The  prayers  of  the  church  are 
desired  for  a  young  man  in  the  congregation  who  is 
rapidly  making  money. '^  There  could  not  have  been 
a  more  timely  prayer  offered  in  that  congregation. 
Years  ago,  when  one  of  the  large  Eastern  merchants 
sent  his  ships  on  the  high  seas  carrying  the  com- 
merce for  the  nations,  one  ship  was  due  on  a  certain 
day,  and  did  not  appear,  carrying  $40,000  worth  of 
goods.  The  merchant  found  himself  restlessly  pacing 
the  floor,  with  the  cold  perspiration  on  his  forehead, 
so  anxious  was  he  about  that  ship.  Day  after  day 
passed  beyond  the  time  for  its  arrival,  and  no  tid- 
ings came,  and  he  was  in  an  agony  about  it,  until 
one  day  it  dawned  upon  him  :  "I  am  a  slave  to  my 
money.  I  am  now  in  abject  bondage  to  it."  And 
then  the  fearful  revelation  shocked  him  to  the 
depths,  whereupon  he  sat  down  immediately  and 
wrote  out  for  the  noble  causes  and  institutions  of 
his  city  his  checks  for  $40,000,  the  amount  of  goods 
on  that  ship,  saying  :  "  I  discover  that  my  money  is 
actually  my  master.  From  this  hour  I  will  master 
it,  by  the  grace  of  God.'' 

A  man  who  can  master  his  money  has  gone  a  long 
way  towards  the  right  mastery,  and  a  man  right 
about  this  question  of  money  is  likely  to  be  right  or 
easily  led  to  do  the  right  on  every  other  question  of 
religion.  A  Christian  man  wrong  on  the  question  of 
his  money  is  likely  to  be  seriously  wrong  on  every 
other  question  in  religion.  Now  that  is  putting  it 
strongly,  but  I  do  unhesitatingly  believe  every  word 


84         A  NEW  TESTAMENT  GOOD  MAN 

I  am  saying,  and  I  would  have  these  younger  men^ 
as  well  as  the  older  ones,  to-day  to  lay  it  to  heart.  A 
man  right  on  the  question  of  his  stewardship  to  God, 
with  his  material  possessions,  is  likely  to  be  right  on 
every  question  that  comes  up  in  his  religious  life. 
But  the  man  wrong  there  is  likely  to  be  warped  and 
distorted  and  wrong  everywhere  in  his  religious  life. 
I  pray  you,  then,  to  see  that  vital  lesson  that  flashes 
out  here  in  the  life  story  of  Barnabas.  Oh,  how  I 
thank  God  for  the  exhibitions  here  in  our  own  con- 
gregation, from  time  to  time,  of  the  mastery  that  men 
in  this  congregation  have  over  their  material  pos- 
sessions !  It  seems  as  easy  for  some  of  you  to  give  as 
to  drink  water  on  a  thirsty  day.  You  are  growing 
in  grace  and  enlarging  in  the  noblest  things  of  the 
heart.  But  I  must  not  tarry  longer  on  this  good 
showing  that  Barnabas  makes  on  giving. 

Here  is  another.  He  was  a  missionary  to  the  core. 
When  the  news  came  that  the  Gentiles  were  being 
converted,  the  Jerusalem  church  sent  Barnabas  down 
to  Antioch  to  see  about  that  strange  thing.  You  must 
remember  that  in  the  beginning  these  Jewish  Chris- 
tians had  short-sighted  visions.  They  believed  in  the 
Jew,  and  did  not  believe  in  anybody  else.  They  had 
narrow  views  ;  believed  that  they  were  the  people  of 
God,  and  besides  them  there  were  no  others.  So  the 
news  came  of  a  great  work  of  grace  down  in  Antioch, 
an  alien  community,  and  this  church  said  :  *' Barna- 
bas, you  might  go  down  and  see  about  it.^'  And,  so, 
Barnabas  went  down,  and  the  Scriptures  say  that 
when  he  came  he  saw  the  grace  of  God  doing  its 
work,  and  he  rejoiced.  Nor  did  he  stop  at  that. 
The  Scriptures  say  that  he  began  exhorting  them, 


A  NEW  TESTAMENT  GOOD  MAN         85 

with  all  his  might,  to  cleave  unto  the  Lord.  He  was 
a  missionary  to  the  core.  The  missionary  is  not  a 
selfish  man.  The  missionary  has  the  heart  of  the 
Saviour  of  the  world.  The  missionary's  vision  is  not 
circumscribed.  The  true  missionary  sees  every 
human  being  in  all  this  great,  wide  world.  Barna- 
bas was  a  missionary.  The  real  missionary  cannot 
be  a  narrow  man.  His  heart  feels  and  prays  and 
yearns  and  resolves,  and  would  help  humanity  every- 
where. 

And,  then,  see  again  his  devoted  life  to  Christjs 
cause.  Oh,  he  was  apostolic  in  his  work  !  Brethren, 
we  must  remember  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  being 
apostolic  in  work  as  well  as  in  doctrine.  We  talk 
about  doctrine,  and  certainly  that  is  well.  The  man 
who  would  be  careless  about  the  doctrine  is  a  great 
fool,  or  worse  than  a  fool.  It  matters  what  a  man 
believes.  The  men  who  are  great  Christians  are 
great  in  doctrine.  They  have  a  basis  for  their 
religious  life.  But  there  is  such  a  thing  as  being 
apostolic  in  work  as  well  as  in  doctrine.  Our 
emphasis  is  not  all  to  be  put  upon  the  fact  that  we 
are  to  be  apostolic  in  doctrine.  Are  we  apostolic  in 
work?  Do  we  put  ourselves  out  in  self-denying 
service  for  other  people  ?  Do  we  go  forth  laboring 
for  Jesus,  not  esteeming  our  lives  dear  to  ourselves  ? 
Do  we  labor  to  help  others,  not  counting  our  own  in- 
terests at  all  ?  Oh,  let  us  be  apostolic  in  work  as  well 
as  in  doctrine  !    Barnabas  was  that  sort  of  a  man. 

And,  still  again,  Barnabas,  in  his  name,  gives  us 
another  important  indication  15f  the  blessedness  of  his 
life.  Barnabas  was  a  ''son  of  consolation.^'  He 
was  true  to  that  expression.     Because  he  was  true  to 


86         A  NEW  TESTAMENT  GOOD  MAN 

it,  the  apostles  surnamed  him  Barnabas,  meaning 
"a  son  of  consolation.^'  Isn't  that  a  fine  phrase  for 
you — '*  a  son  of  consolation  "  ?  What  genius  a  man 
has  who  has  the  genius  of  comforting  and  consoling 
the  people !  Christianity  is  vigorous  consolation. 
Christianity  means  comfort  to  the  people.  Christian- 
ity is  not  an  oppressive  thing,  taking  the  heart  and 
the  hope  and  the  life  and  the  peace  out  of  men.  Oh, 
it  is  just  the  opposite.  It  is  to  hearten  and  to  inspire 
and  to  uplift  the  sons  of  men.  What  a  genius,  then, 
a  good  man  has  when  he  has  the  genius  of  consola- 
tion !  He  is  the  man  needed  both  in  Church  and  in 
State.  Oh,  these  pessimistic  croakers  in  politics, 
what  shall  I  say  of  them  ?  They  make  us  weary. 
These  calamity  howlers,  these  fellows  who  see  the 
bottom  dropping  out  of  everything,  these  men  who 
are  always  croaking  and  whining  and  grumbling, 
may  their  tribe  decrease !  The  man  who  can  put 
heart  and  hope  into  others,  the  man  who  can  see  the 
bright  side  of  the  cloud,  the  man  who  can  lift  up 
lofty  visions  and  noble  ideals  for  his  state,  there  is 
your  statesman,  and  there  is  your  man  to  follow. 
The  man  who,  when  the  people  are  down,  has  the 
genius  of  saying  the  right  thing  to  them,  the  man 
who  can  transform  a  state  with  constructive  consola- 
tion, he  is  the  man  to  lead  the  people.  Senator 
Brown  did  it  in  Georgia.  When  the  old  state  lay 
withered  and  prostrate  and  bleeding  at  the  close  of 
the  war  of  the  States,  that  man  of  such  remarkable 
common  sense,  and  that  man  of  dauntless  optimism, 
stood  up  and  largely  transformed  Georgia  in  the  af- 
fairs of  state. 
The  man  with  the  genius  for  consoling  in  the  no 


A  NEW  TESTAMENT  GOOD  MAN         87 

blest  seuse,  how  much  such  a  man  means  in  the  affairs 
of  Church  !  Mr.  Spurgeon  said  he  had  one  blind 
man  in  his  church,  and  now  and  then  spells  came 
over  his  church,  as  come  over  many  a  church,  when 
the  people's  lips  hung  down,  and  when  they  whined 
and  cried  and  groaned.  Spurgeon  said  that  on  such 
occasions  the  blind  man  got  up  and  said  just  the  thing 
that  went  through  his  church  like  an  electric  shock, 
and  brought  them  back  to  their  senses.  Oue  day  the 
blind  man  asked  them  if  God  was  dead  ;  he  would 
like  to  know.  One  day  he  asked  if  Jesus  had  va- 
cated the  world  and  let  Satan  have  it ;  he  wanted  to 
know.  And  with  words  like  that,  with  a  genius  al- 
ways for  saying  the  right  thing,  he  put  heart  and 
hope  and  spirit  into  the  great  church.  Now,  Barna- 
bas had  that  same  genius,  after  the  noblest  sort  of 
fashion.  Christianity  is  vigorous  comfort.  And  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  designations,  given  far  back  be- 
fore the  coming  of  Christ,  of  Christ  when  He  should 
come,  was  this  :  "The  consolation  of  Israel."  And 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  titles  given  the  Almighty 
is  this  :  ' '  The  God  of  all  comfort.' '  Barnabas  teaches 
us  here  a  lesson  of  priceless  moment.  He  knew  the 
word  to  speak  in  season  to  the  man  disheartened. 
He  knew  the  word  to  say  to  hearten  and  to  inspire 
and  to  give  courage  and  strength,  rather  than  the  op- 
posite. Have  you  paused  to  consider  the  power  of 
words?  Men  can  undo  you  with  their  words.  They 
can  take  the  heart  out  of  you.  They  can  take  the  blood 
out  of  you.  They  can  lay  you  prostrate.  Or  they 
can  lift  you  up  and  send  you  out,  buoyant  and  leap- 
ing as  a  strong  man  to  run  a  race,  with  their  worda 
Let  Barnabas  teach  us  all  at  this  vital  point. 


88         A  NEW  TESTAMENT  GOOD  MAN 

Then,  we  need  to  see,  also,  that  this  man  Barnabas 
was  absolutely  free  from  the  mean  spirit  of  jealousy 
or  envy.  You  remember  when  they  started  out  on 
their  missionary  tours  it  was  Barnabas  and  Saul — 
Barnabas  first — but  a  little  later  Saul  overshadowed 
him.  Then  it  was  Saul  and  Barnabas  always  after 
that.  How  did  this  man  bear  it !  He  was  perfectly 
content  to  walk  in  Paul's  shadow.  He  did  not  com- 
pare in  ability  with  Paul,  and  he  was  perfectly  con- 
tent to  be  subordinate  to  Paul's  superior  leadership. 
There  is  not  a  single  intimation  of  his  jealousy  towards 
this  young  and  rising  man,  not  one.  An  envious  man 
is  a  little  man.  You  cannot  make  anything  else  out 
of  him.  He  is  a  little  man.  He  may  be  smart.  He 
may  be  clever.  He  may  be  witty,  and  talk  fluently, 
but  he  is  a  little  man.  An  envious  man  is  a  danger- 
ous man.  Paul  was  a  tremendously  great  man,  and 
Barnabas  knew  it,  and  Barnabas  was  the  man  to  put 
Paul  to  the  front  everywhere.  Barnabas  said :  ^'I 
will  play  second  fiddle  gladly.  God  made  me  to  play 
it.  Who  am  I  to  be  mouthing  about  it  1  This  man 
is  incomparably  greater  and  stronger  than  I  am.  I 
will  walk  in  his  shadow.  I  will  reinforce  him.  I  will 
make  his  work  greater.  I  will  do  for  this  man  every- 
thing I  can."  Such  a  man  is  himself  a  mighty  man 
in  the  kingdom  of  God.  It  takes  a  great  man  to  do 
that.  And  along  with  Paul's  name  down  the  ages 
forever  will  be  linked  the  name  of  Barnabas. 

Have  you  ever  thought  what  Paul  might  have  been 
without  Barnabas  ?  O  Paul,  probably  the  best  friend 
you  ever  had,  next  to  Jesus,  was  Barnabas.  Barna- 
bas had  that  spiritual  insight  that  discerned  God's 
man.     Somebody  speaks  of  it  as  the  insight  of  th€ 


A  NEW  TESTAMENT  GOOD  MAN         89 

Spirit  of  God.  Barnabas  had  it.  Barnabas  tided 
Paul  over  his  hard  places.  You  remember  two  occa- 
sions, especially,  when  Barnabas  stood  for  Paul,  two 
momentous  occasions  in  Paul's  life.  Paul  had  been 
converted  down  on  the  Damascus  road,  and  went  at 
once  to  preaching,  you  remember.  After  a  while,  he 
came  back  to  the  church  at  Jerusalem,  and  those 
people  were  dubious  of  him.  They  were  afraid  of 
him.  He  was  a  man  who  had  made  sore  trouble  for 
them.  He  had  persecuted  the  church.  He  had  been 
a  terror  to  them,  and  they  were  exceedingly  afraid  of 
him.  Barnabas,  with  that  spiritual  discernment  that 
he  had,  said:  ^^Come,  brethren,  this  is  God's  man." 
Barnabas  stood  for  him.  Barnabas  got  in  behind 
him.  Barnabas  tided  him  over  that  rough  place. 
That  is  a  man  worth  while.  Oh,  how  valuable  are 
these  men  in  a  church,  or  women,  who  can  discern 
the  Christ  in  people,  and  despite  the  things  that  are 
rather  fearful,  despite  the  things  that  are  rather  ob- 
jectionable,  can  stand  for  them  and  say  :  ''Here,  Jesus 
Christ  is  in  this  person,  and  let  us  help  him  ;  let  us 
hearten  him ;  let  us  lift  him  up  ! "  Barnabas  did 
that.  And  then  you  remember  when  the  meeting 
came  at  Antioch,  Barnabas  got  down  there,  and  the 
meeting  was  too  much  for  him.  It  was  too  big  a 
thing  for  him.  He  could  not  handle  it.  But  he 
said  :  ''I  have  a  man  who  can  handle  it.  I  have  a 
man  who  can  preach  after  a  noble  fashion,"  and  away 
he  went  and  hunted  up  Paul,  and  brought  Paul  down 
to  Antioch,  and  there  for  a  year  stood  behind  Paul 
in  that  great  Antioch  revival,  Paul  preaching  the 
Gospel  of  the  grace  of  God  with  such  wonderful 
■^wer,     Barnabas    knew,    better    than    any   Mason 


^' 


90         A  NEW  TESTAMENT  GOOD  MAN 

knows  the  Masonic  spirit,  that  Christ's  Spirit  was  in 
Paul.  Great  man,  wasn't  he?  If  you  find  the  re- 
motest feeling  of  jealousy  towards  any  man,  get  to 
your  knees  and  stay  there  until  it  is  banished  forever. 
A  man  is  a  little  man  that  can  have  one  shadow  of 
grief  to  come  over  him  by  reason  of  anybody's  big- 
ness or  greatness  or  popularity  or  success.  Barnabas 
teaches  us  at  this  point,  as  we  are  taught  by  no  other, 
perhaps,  in  all  the  Word  of  God,  except  John  the 
Baptist.  You  recall  how  the  crowds  followed  after 
John.  You  remember  how  popular  John  was.  How 
he  did  sway  those  people  as  they  came  to  hear  him  ! 
But  after  a  while  another  came  on  the  scene,  even 
Jesus  of  Nazareth,  and  the  crowd  slipped  away  from 
John.  Some  of  John's  friends,  it  seems,  intimated  to 
him  :  ^*  John,  how  about  this?  You  have  a  rival  in 
the  field.  How  about  thisi  The  crowds  are  leav- 
ing you.  How  about  it?  "  You  remember  what  he 
said :  ^'  He  must  increase,  but  I  must  decrease." 
There  is  a  great  man  for  you.  *' He  must  increase, 
but  I  must  decrease.  I  am  just  a  voice.  I  am  just  a 
forerunner.  I  am  the  one  to  get  the  things  a  little 
out  of  the  way  for  the  mighty  coming  of  Himself. 
He  must  increase,  but  I  must  decrease."  There  is 
a  mighty  man  for  you.  Barnabas  was  that  sort  of  a 
man. 

liong  enough  have  I  spoken.  One  more  word. 
We  cannot  all  be  great  men  like  Paul.  None  of  us 
can.  But  we  can  be  good  men  like  Barnabas.  We 
can  be  good  men.  O  brethren,  to  be  good  men,  that 
is  the  first  thing  in  the  kingdom  of  God  !  Genuine 
goodness— not  cleverness,  not  smartness,  not  intellec- 
tuality, but  goodness — that  is  the  fundamental  thing 


A  NEW  TESTAMENT  GOOD  MAN         91 

in  the  kingdom  of  God.  We  may  not  be  great.  We 
may  not  sway  the  multitudes.  We  may  not  have 
our  pictures  in  the  papers.  They  may  not  be  writ- 
ing editorials  about  us.     But  we  can  be  good  men. 

Do  you  not  feel  this  morning  to  pray:  *'Lord, 
whatever  the  cost  to  us,  make  us  genuinely  good  men 
and  women. "  Let  us  pray  that  prayer  with  all  our 
hearts  just  now. 


An  Old  Testament  Good  Man 

Text:     "Caleb,    tlie    son    of   Jephunueli."— - 
Joshua  xiv.  6. 

OUE  study  last  Sunday  morning  was  "  Some 
Lessons  from  the  Life  of  Barnabas."  Bar- 
nabas was  the  Caleb  of  the  New  Testament, 
while  Caleb  was  the  Barnabas  of  the  Old  Testament. 
Not  much  is  said  in  the  Scriptures  about  Caleb,  and 
yet  enough  is  said  to  put  him  before  us  as  one  of  the 
most  inspiring  examples  of  Old  Testament  history. 
He  stands  before  us  as  a  man  of  much  dignity,  of  un- 
bending devotion  to  principle,  with  a  faith  and  a 
courage  and  a  conviction  after  the  very  highest  fash- 
ion. We  do  well  to  study  the  examples  in  the  Bible 
of  men  who  have  wrought  nobly  in  the  cause  of  God. 
Such  character  study  will  point  us  lessons  of  how  we 
may  serve  God  to  the  best  advantage. 

Let  us  look,  then,  at  some  very  meaningful  lessona 
connected  with  this  life  story  to-day.  And,  first^ 
what  of  the  character  of  Caleb?  Barnabas,  as  we 
learned  last  Sunday  morning,  was  called  ''  the  son  of 
consolation."  Caleb  may  well  be  called  the  man  of 
*'^gill  heart,"  and  in  the  life  story  given  of  him  in 
the  Word  of  God  there  are  certain  manifestations 
that  appear  in  the  story  that  show  how  truly  he 
might  bear  the  name  of  Mr.   Greatheart.     See  the 

92 


AN  OLD  TESTAMENT  GOOD  MAN        93 

outflasbing  where  his  cheerfulness  is  one  of  the 
marked  expressions  of  his  life.  You  search  in  vain 
in  this  life  story  of  Caleb  to  find  a  single  instance 
where  he  was  pessimistic,  or  cheerless,  or  dejected  at 
all,  but  rather,  the  opposite  shines  out  from  his  life 
story  all  along.  He  is  one  of  the  sunniest  characters 
in  all  the  Bible.  Caleb  had  the  New  Testament 
spirit,  enjoined  long  afterwards  by  Paul,  when  Paul 
urged:  ^^Eejoice  evermore."  And  when  again  he 
said  :  "Eejoice  in  the  Lord  alway,  and  again  I  say, 
rejoice,"  Caleb  had  caught  that  spirit  most  gra- 
ciously, and  throughout  his  eventful  life  he  was  the 
man  whose  disposition  was  one  of  uniform  and  glori- 
ous cheerfulness,  t  It  is  a  most  valuable  lesson  to 
learn,  dear  friends.  ^*The  joy  of  the  Lord  is  your 
strength."  The  dejected,  moping,  cheerless  Chris- 
tian, the  one  without  joy,  the  one  whose  face  indi- 
cates sorrow  forever,  is  not  the  one  who  makes  a 
gracious  impression  upon  an  unbelieving  world. 
Caleb  is  a  man,  with  all  that  hearty,  cheerful,  sun- 
shiny life,  to  give  men  to  understand  how  healthy 
and  happy  a  thing  it  is  for  one  to  be  a  genuine 
Christian. 

The  manifestation  of  his  heartiness  of  nature  is 
also  seen  in  the  power  he  had  to  calm  other  people. 
You  recall  the  report  that  the  spies  made  when  they 
came  back  from  the  land  which  they  were  sent  to  ^ 
spy  out  for  Moses.     You  recall  the  report  they  gave 
when  they  came  back.     Caleb  and  Joshua  gave  a  | 
gracious  report.     They  did  not  minimize  the  difi&cul-  \ 
ties  at  all.     They  said,  ''There  are  difficulties.     The 
men  are  mighty.     Their  cities  are  well  fenced.     Their 
surroundings  are  such  as  to  call  for  our  earnest  at- ' 


94        AK  OLD  TESTAMENT  GOOD  MAN 

Itention,   but  we  are  well  able  to  overcome  all  the 

■difficulties."     Tbat  was  their  report.     And  then  you 

remember  the  report  of  the  other  ten,  their  comrades. 

They  gave  an  altogether  different  report.     All  the 

twelve  agreed  that  it  was  a  wonderful  land,  that 

it  flowed  with   milk   and  honey,   that  the  grapes 

of  Eschol  were  not  equaled  by  any  other  grapes, 

that  everything  about  the  land  was  inviting  and 

glorious.     But  ten  of  them  were  overwhelmed  with 

i  pessimism  and  unbelief.     And  when  they  had  given 

\  their  pessimistic  report,  all  the  people  broke  forth 

'into  wailing  and  whining,  and  dismay  seized  the 

/  whole  congregation  of  Israel.     And  then  Caleb  stood 

\  up,  this  man  of  great  heart,  and  calmed  the  whole 

\  crowd.     He  so  spoke  as  to  still  them,  at  least  for  a 

i season,  in  that  time  of  dejection  and  gloom. 

Here  then  is  a  vital  lesson  :  The  men  who  can  tran- 
quilize  others  are  much  needed  men.  They  are  of 
untold  value  to  the  world — the  men  who  can  tran- 
quilize  others.  Almost  any  man  can  set  other  men 
by  the  ears.  In  a  dozen  sentences  he  can  set  men 
by  the  ears  until  they  are  ready  to  go  at  one  another 
like  untamed  beasts.  But  the  man  who  can  tran- 
quilize  others,  the  man  who  can  quell  the  spirit  of 
the  mob,  the  man  who  in  state,  in  society,  in  the 
clashes  that  come  with  the  classes,  the  man  who  can 
stand  in  their  midst  and  still  them,  is  a  man  of  price- 
less value  to  any  community.  The  man  who  can  do 
that  in  a  church,  in  the  affairs  of  religion,  the  man 
who  can  quickly  bring  discordant  and  divided  ele- 
ments to  fraternal  and  common  standing  ground  for 
all,  is  a  man  of  great  price  in  the  church  of  God. 
The  one  who  can   do  that  in  the  family,  with  the 


AK  OLD  TESTAMENT  GOOD  MAN        95 

little  frictions  that  come  in  the  family  life,  who  can 
suggest  the  way  for  the  amicable  adjustment  of  such 
little  frictions,  that  one  does  a  priceless  work  in  fam- 
ily life.  Nowy  Caleb  had  that  gracious  power,  the 
gower  of  stilling  others  in  the  midst  of  tumultuous 
and  unhappy  experiences. 

And,  again,  the  manifestation  of  the  great-hearted-l 
ness  of  Caleb  is  seen  in  the  fact  that  his  whole  life 
was  filled  with  positive  encouragement  for  other  peo- 
ple. O  my  friends,  the  man  who  has  the  genius  to 
encourage  other  people  is  the  man  this  world  is  look- 
ing for  and  needs.  The  man  who  can  put  heart  into 
men  rather  than  take  heart  out  of  them,  this  world 
suffers  and  pants  and  languishes  for  such  a  man. 
Caleb  had  the  noble  genius  for  putting  heart  into 
men.  There  are  men  who  have  the  evil  genius  of 
taking  it  all  out.  You  can  hear  them  for  a  dozen 
minutes  and  feel  like  you  had  been  to  a  funeral  or  to 
something  much  worse.  They  can  take  the  heart 
out  of  you.  They  can  look  at  you  in  a  way  to  make 
you  feel  a  dozen  years  older.  Caleb  had  the  spirit  of 
heartening  men.  He  could  send  men  out  with  a 
lofty,  conquering  spirit,  and  such  a  man  is  ever  a 
man  of  invaluable  moment  in  this  world.  When 
reverses  come,  when  crops  are  bad,  when  business  is 
dull,  when  collections  go  slowly,  when  health  seems 
under  its  normal  condition,  the  man  who  can  step  in 
then  and  put  spirit  and  heart  into  the  people,  the 
man  who  has  the  genius  to  speak  the  word  in  season 
to  them  who  are  weary,  he  is  a  man  that  church,  and 
state,  and  home,  and  society,  and  all  classes  and  con- 
ditions most  earnestly  need.  Caleb  was  that  sort  oi 
a  man. 


96        AJN  OLD  TESTAMENT  GOOD  MAK 

And  then  he  was  a  man  to  the  last  degree  courageous 
in  heart.  When  the  ten  gave  their  report,  in  which 
they  dealt  out  the  doleful  story  of  the  greatness  of  the 
giants  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  how  large  and  mighty 
were  their  cities,  what  grasshoppers  they  felt  them- 
selves to  be,  the  heart  of  all  the  people  was  ready  to 
faint.  Then  Caleb  stood  in  their  midst  and  said  : 
'*Much  that  these  ten  men  say  is  so.  There  are 
great  men  in  the  land  we  have  visited,  and  their 
cities  are  large  and  mightily  fortified,  but  we  are 
well  able  to  overcome  them."  Not  only  able,  he 
said,  but  "  well  able  "  to  overcome  them.  There  is  a 
man  of  the  loftiest  courage.  Every  one  of  us  needs 
to  cultivate  the  spirit  of  genuine  and  quenchless 
courage,  for  there  is  constant  need  of  such  courage  in 
the  daily  battle  of  life  that  we  must  fight.  There  are 
so  many  reverses  and  surprises  and  disappointments 
that  come  in  the  conflicts  of  human  life,  that  every 
man  needs,  like  Caleb,  to  cultivate  the  fortifying 
quality  of  courage.  Oh,  how  weary  the  world  is  of 
whining  and  of  crying  and  of  pessimism,  and  of  dis- 
couragement !  Every  man  needs  to  set  himself,  as 
did  Caleb,  to  cultivating  continually  the  noblest  sort 
of  courage  for  the  battle  of  life. 

See  another  striking  element  in  Caleb's  character. 
That  was  his  conviction  and  fidelity  to  duty.  Caleb 
was  a  man  who  dared  to  be  in  the  minority.  He  was 
a  man  who  could,  without  any  blanching  of  face,  go 
against  the  crowd.  He  was  a  man  who  had  his 
anchorage  thoroughly  defined,  and  who  adjusted 
himself  in  absolute  obedience  to  the  convictions  his 
soul  felt  and  knew  to  be  right.  He  dared,  therefore, 
to  be  in  the  minority.     He  dared,  therefore,  to  go 


AN  OLD  TESTAMENT  GOOD  MAN        97 

agaiust  the  tumult  of  the  crowd  ;  and  in  that  he  ex- 
hibited one  of  the  most  commendable  elements,  and 
one  of  the  most  forceful,  that  can  be  in  a  man's  char- 
acter. /  Alas,  what  sacrifices  of  truth,  and  of  prin- 
ciple, and  of  right,  are  made,  because  men  do  not 
dare  to  be  in  the  minority  !  In  the  world  of  politics, 
how  men  trim,  and  cavil,  and.  cringe,  rather  than  go 
against  the  multitude.  Caleb  was  a.  politician  of  the 
right  sort,  or  rather,  I  should  say,  a  statesman, — a 
man  who  could  be  in  the  minority  to-day,  because  the 
minority  was  right,  and  who  could  patiently  wait 
for  to-morrow,  because  ever  is  truth  vindicated  in 
due  time.  In  society,  in  life's  social  relations,  how 
many  things  are  tolerated  that  people  in  their  better 
natures  rebel  against.  And  yet  they  do  not  squarely 
brook  the  majority  and  say  :  *'  I  will  have  no  lot  nor 
fellowship  with  this  thing."  One  said  to  me  re- 
cently :  ' '  I  am  ashamed  every  time  I  go  through  a 
certain  social  performance  in  this  city.'^  I  replied  : 
''Well,  aren't  you  ashamed  enough  to  turn  the  other 
way?  Why  yield  pliautly  to  the  spirit  of  the 
majority?  Why  not  turn  straight  about,  live 
honestly,  be  on  good  terms  with  your  conscience,  and 
squarely,  with  eagle  eye,  face  the  things  that  are 
wrong,  and  with  courageous  hand  push  them  utterly 
aside?"  Caleb  was  a  man  who  could  stand  out 
against  the  majority,  looking  to  the  revelation  that 
the  truth  would  have  to-morrow  and  to  the  victory  it 
would  have.  Ofttimes  the  maj  ority  are  utterly  wrong. 
That  "The  voice  of  the  people  is  the  voice  of  God?' 
is  ofttimes  not  so.  Ofttimes  the  minority  is  right. 
And  a  man  in  the  minority,  with  the  consciousness 
^at  he  is  in  alliance  with  truth  and  principle,  mu^ 


»8        AN  OLD  TESTAMENT  GOOD  MAN 

be  a  man  who,  for  no  cause,  would  give  up  his  con- 
victions of  right  and  truth  and  duty.  Athanasius 
uttered  the  pronouncement,  *'I,  Athanasius,  against 
the  world, '^  and  the  stern  theologian  made  the  world 
hear  and  respect  him. 

Martin  Luther  went,  against  all  the  protestations  of 
his  friends,  to  the  Diet  at  Worms,  when  they  said  : 
"It  means  your  death."  And  Luther  said:  "I 
would  go  and  declare  what  my  soul  knows  to  be 
right,  if  every  tile  on  every  roof  in  Wurtemberg  were 
a  devil.^'  He  won  because  he  was  true  to  principle. 
And  Calvary,  on  which  hanged  the  Son  of  God,  is  the 
crowning  expression  of  the  truth  that  the  minority  is 
ofttimes  the  sublime  winning  force  because  it  is  right. 
Here,  then,  is  an  element  in  Caleb's  character,  price- 

1  less  and  powerful — his  fidelity  to  duty  against  the 

[^  majority. 

Note  again  that  Caleb  was  a  man  who  was  peren- 
nially young.  That  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
things  in  his  life  story.  Here  was  a  man  who  never 
did  get  old.  Now,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty  and 
five  years,  he  said  :  "I  am  as  ready  to  go  to  war  as  I 
was  forty-five  years  ago.  I  am  just  as  strong  for  it^ 
and  I  am  as  ready  for  it.  I  am  as  eager  for  the 
battle  as  I  was  back  yonder  at  life's  middle  time./* 
So  there  gleams  out  in  the  brief  story  of  Caleb  the 
delightful  thought  that  he  was  a  man  who  lived  to 
the  last  breath  of  his  life,  young  in  spirit,  and  ever 
enthusiastic  in  his  work.  This  is  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  exhibitions  of  Caleb's  remarkable  character. 
You  notice  him  at  this  advanced  age  of  eighty-five 
years  asking  Joshua  for  the  hardest  job  in  all  the_ 
kingdom.     **Let  me  go   up    yonder    and    conquer 


AN  OLD  TESTAMENT  GOOD  MAN        99 

Hebron,  that  city  in  the  mountains,  fortified  so 
well  and  surrounded  by  the  sons  of  Anak,  those 
giants  we  heard  about  years  ago.  Let  me  have  that 
hard  task,  and  I  will  go  and  drive  them  out,  even  as 
Moses  promised  me  forty-five  years  ago,.''  And 
Joshua  allowed  him  to  go  upon  that  difiQcult  mission. 
A  man  is  already  an  old  man  who  talks  about  *^  be- 
ing let  alone,  having  done  his  part.''  No  man  must 
talk  like  that  in  this  brief  and  important  life.  A 
man's  face  must  be  set  like  a  flint  towards  doing  his 
duty,  until  the  last  brealh  shall  expire  from  his 
body.  I  say  it  to  day,  from  my  heart  of  hearts,  the 
very  hour  that  I  cannot  heartily  work  for  God,  that 
hour  I  want  to  go  home.  There  is  not  any  place, 
there  is  not  any  need  for  any  man  ever  to  get  old  in 
this  world.  And  if  a  man  will  link  himself  with  the 
right  things,  and  have  the  right  view-point  in  the 
life  he  lives,  he  will  never  be  an  old  man.  Moses 
was  one  hundred  and  twenty  years  old  when  he  died, 
but  the  Scriptures  tell  us  that  his  eye  had  lost  none 
of  its  brightness,  nor  was  his  natural  force  in  any 
wise  abated,  and  the  reason  is  not  hard  to  find. 
Moses  had  the  right  view-point  for  his  life.  Moses 
was  linked  with  the  right  things.  Moses  had  his 
anchorage  first  of  all  to  God,  and  accepted  the 
central  truth  of  the  Christian  religion,  that  a  man 
whom  God  has  saved  belongs  utterly  to  God,  to  live 
or  to  die,  to  stay  here  or  to  go  hence,  according  to 
God's  will.  Nor  was  that  all  in  Moses'  case.  Moses 
linked  himself  with  great  causes  for  the  lifting  up  of 
his  oppressed  fellows.  Moses  lived  not  a  day  for 
himself.  Why  should  he?  Moses  was  not  con- 
cerned about  his  own  ease  or  aggrandizement.     Why 


100      AN  OLD  TESTAMENT  GOOD  MAN 

should  he  be  ?  Life  is  missed  in  its  sublime  meaning 
if  any  man  lives  for  himself.  Moses  gave  himself  as 
a  servant,  with  his  marvelous  powers  of  brain  and 
heart,  a  servant  to  lift  up  poor,  beaten,  oppressed 
'Israel.  And  Moses  in  self- forgetting  sacrifice  laid 
;  his  life  on  the  altar  for  the  restoration  of  Israel  to 
jher  proper  place  among  the  nations  of  the  earth. 
[No  wonder  he  was  still  a  young  man  when  he  died. 
You  take  men  who  live  like  that,  and  they  are  not 
old  men.  Glorious  spectacle  was  that  of  Gladstone, 
beyond  eighty,  with  an  eye  yet  bright,  and  with  a 
mind  well  poised  and  keen  and  clear.  Gladstone 
was  linked  with  everything  in  the  world  that  would 
make  for  the  uplifting  of  humanity.  And  a  man 
who  thus  links  his  life  is  not  a  man  ever  to  get 
old.  Caleb  was  perennially  young,  and  at  the  ad- 
vanced age  of  eighty  and  five  Caleb  asked  for  the 
hardest  job  that  was  ever  given  him  in  his  life. 
*• '  Let  me  have  Hebron, ' '  he  said.  Hebron  meant  diffi- 
culty. Hebron  meant  battle.  Hebron  meant  most  ex- 
acting work.  Hebron  meant  awful  conflict.  Hebron 
meant  a  fight  to  the  finish.  But  there,  at  the  ad 
vanced  age  of  eighty  and  five,  he  said  :  *'  Put  on  my 
shoulders  the  hardest  thing  I  have  ever  had  to  do, 
and  I  will  go  forth  to  the  battle.'^  And  forth  he 
went  and  won,  to  the  everlasting  credit  of  his  name. 
Oh,  how  stimulating  that  record  is !  Do  you 
wish  to  make  the  most  of  life  ?  Then  do  not  seek 
the  soft,  easy  places  of  life.  Why  should  it  matter 
to  me  if  there  should  come  home  to  me  to-day  the 
conviction  that  God  would  have  me  betake  myself 
to  dark  and  besotted  Africa,  to  give  myself  in  un- 
stinted  devotion    to   lifting   up    that  race?    Why 


AN  OLD  TESTAMENT  GOOD  MAN      101 

should  I  halt  a  moment !  I  am  not  mine  own,  nor 
is  a  single  power  I  possess  mine  own.  I  am  God's. 
Why  should  I  not  adjust  myself  to  what  He  asks,  I 
in  my  sphere,  and  you  in  yours?  If  you  would 
make  life  truly  great,  great  in  its  deepest  and  high- 
est sense,  get  the  view- point  Caleb  had,  and  look  not 
for  the  easy  and  soft  places  in  life,  but  look  for  the 
places  where  you  can  have  full  opportunity  to  put 
every  power  of  your  nature  on  the  altar  for  God,  In 
the  high  service  of  humanity.  Here  is  where  many 
Christians  fail.  I  haven't  a  question  that  many 
preachers  largely  fail  because  they  are  looking  for 
easy  and  soft  places.  The  oiie  thing  we  are  to  think 
about,  to  care  for,  is  that  we  may  stand  in  the  battle's 
front  and  in  the  thick  of  the  fight,  every  man  where 
God  wants  him,  whether  lawyer,  doctor,  minister, 
teacher,  banker,  farmer,  or  what  not.  If  God  has 
hard  tasks  and  big  jobs,  and  gigantic  undertakings, 
let  each  one  give  himself  to  them  with  the  spirit  of 
Caleb,  scorning  easy  places,  asking  for  God  to  give  him 
anything  He  wishes,  in  His  infinite  wisdom  and  love. 
I  speak  to  men  here  to-day,  a  large  company,  and 
very  few  of  them  with  gray  hairs,  but  we  will  have 
them  after  a  little  if  we  live.  Let  us  address  our- 
selves to  life's  problems  as  did  Caleb.  Let  us  make 
up  our  minds  never  to  get  old,  never.  Let  us  make 
up  our  minds  that  we  will  never  admit  for  a  breath 
to  ourselves  that  suggestion  of  the  devil,  that  we 
have  *'done  our  part."  Done  our  part !  Done  our 
part  in  life  !  "Why,  if  we  should  live  ten  million 
years,  and  give  every  moment  to  the  service  of  God, 
every  di'op  of  our  blood,  every  thought  of  our  brain, 
we  would  the:i  haye,  barely  made  a  start  in  giving  to. 


102      AN  OLD  TESTAMENT  GOOD  MAN 

God  that  which  He  so  rightfully  deserves  at  oui 
hauds.  Let  Caleb  teach  us.  Let  him  teach  us  how 
always  to  be  young.  I  know  some  old  men,  and  you 
do,  too,  as  the  world  counts  it,  that  are  not  old  at  all. 
They  are  as  young  as  lads  of  twenty-one.  They  are 
linked  with  great  causes.  They  are  forgetting  them- 
selves. They  hear  the  heart-beat  of  a  suffering  world. 
They  plan  and  they  give,  and  they  love,  and  they  go, 
and  they  serve,  forgetting  self.  They  will  never  get 
old,  but  like  Caleb  they  will  come  down  to  the  end 
at  last  with  perennial  youth. 

But  see  again  Caleb's  case.  Caleb  *  ^  wholly  followed 
the  Lord  his  God.''  That  is  what  the  Scriptures  say 
again  and  again  about  him.  And  that  is  the  secret, 
the  sublime  secret,  of  all  the  other  wonderful  elements 
of  his  character  we  have  been  considering.  Caleb 
wholly  followed  the  Lord  his  God.  'Whenever  a 
man  does  that,  what  does  he  care  for  the  clamor  of 
the  multitudes?  Whenever  a  man  does  that,  what 
does  he  care  for  the  view  of  the  majority?  When- 
ever a  man  does  that,  what  does  he  care  for  anything 
except  the  ^*  Well  done  "  of  the  God  whom  he  serves  ? 
Caleb  wholly  followed  the  Lord  his  God.  Caleb  said 
that  for  himself:  *^I  have  wholly  followed  Him.'' 
And  Moses  said  it  about  Caleb.  And  God  Himself 
said  :  "  My  servant,  Caleb,  has  wholly  followed  Me." 
So  that  he  had  the  testimony  overwhelming  of  the 
reality  of  his  devotion  to  God.  Now,  in  that  fact  re- 
sides the  sublime  secret  of  Caleb's  marvelous  power  for 
God.  And  just  there  is  the  pivotal  point  upon  which 
is  determined  man's  relation  to  God  and  his  relation 
to  man.  Here  is  where  men  are  undone.  If  men  do 
not  follow  God  definitely  and  whole-heartedly,  if  men 


AN  OLD  TESTAMENT  GOOD  MAN      103 

do  not  follow  God,  putting  the  reins  of  their  lives  into 
His  hands,  then  such  men  make  practical  shipwreck  of 
Christian  usefulness  and  Christian  joy.  Brethren,  the 
supreme  peril  to  us  all  is  that  we  take  our  religion  too 
easily.  Our  religion  is  not  some  nice  bandbox  affair. 
Our  religion  means  battle  and  suffering  and  service. 
Our  religion  means  the  forgetting  of  self.  Our  re- 
ligion is  to  soothe  the  brow  of  every  aching  head, 
and  to  give  glad  cheer  to  every  cheerless  heart,  and 
to  lift  up  every  fallen  life.  .  The  constant  trouble  is 
that  we  take  our  religion  too  easily.  Caleb's  spirit 
is  the  spirit  for  us  all — whole-hearted  devotion  to  God. 
Oh,  for  that  spirit,  which  found  its  expression  in 
Paul,  which  found  its  expression  in  Luther,  which 
found  its  expression  in  Wesley,  which  found  its 
expression  in  Knox,  which  found  its  expression 
in  Spurgeon,  which  found  its  expression  in  David 
Brainerd.  Brainerd  said:  ''I  had  rather  win 
one  poor  lost  soul  for  Christ  than  to  win  mountains 
of  gold  and  silver  for  myself.''  That  is  the  spirit 
that  will  consume  the  evil  of  the  world  and  take 
away  its  chaff  and  make  life  a  great  and  sublime 
thing.  That  is  the  spirit  Caleb  had,  and  that  is  the 
spirit  for  us  all. 

I  do  not  wonder  that  many  Christians  get  so  little 
out  of  religion.  The  explanation  is  at  hand.  They 
put  so  little  into  it,  I  do  not  wonder  that  most  of 
the  time  they  stumble  along  in  the  dark.  They  live 
in  the  dark.  I  do  not  wonder  that  all  along  they  are 
swept  with  coniaicting  emotions.  They  put  them- 
selves where  such  emotions  can  have  the  fullest  sway. 
The  Christian  life  is  not  to  be  lived  in  the  twilight. 
The  Christian  life  is  to  be  open  and  aboveboard, 


104      AN  OLD  TESTAMENT  GOOD  MAN 

and  straightforward,  and  definite,  and  pronounced. 
The  man  who  lives  that  sort  of  a  Christian  life  reaches 
up  any  time  with  his  hand  and  touches  the  hand  of 
Christ.  Caleb  lived  that  sort  of  a  life.  »  O  friends, 
if  you  would  have  power  in  your  family,  where  some 
are  gainsaying  and  ungodly,  if  you  would  have  power 
in  life's  social  relations  or  business  relations,  as  you 
touch  elbows  with  men,  then  yield  never  one  iota  to  the 
admission  of  the  wrong  thing  into  your  life.  Stand 
like  Caleb,  with  whole-hearted  devotion  unto  God. 

Just  here,  I  say,  is  the  explanation  for  a  thousand 
ills  in  human  life.  I  talked  yesterday  at  length  with 
a  strong  business  man,  upon  whom  troubles  have  re- 
cently come  with  terrible  force  and  fury.  Years 
ago,  when  I  preached  in  another  place,  he  found 
Christ  and  nobly  confessed  Him.  Now  he  is  down 
in  the  dark  and  deep  valley  of  distress.  He  said : 
**  I  have  come  a  long  distance  to  go  over  this  matter 
with  you."  I  said:  '^The  physician  must  diagnose 
his  case  before  he  is  willing  to  give  any  medicine. 
Now,  answer  me,  first,  some  questions  honestly,  and 
we  will  go  over  the  whole  matter."  And  when  I 
probed  the  man  with  questions,  I  could  not  find  that 
he  had  one  religious  habit  in  his  life  which  he  lived 
up  to  with  a  day's  consistency — not  one.  He  said  : 
^'  Why,  I  see  after  my  business  on  Sunday,  and  I  have 
not  read  my  Bible  for  mouths,  and  I  go  to  church 
with  awful  irregularity,  and  I  can  hardly  tell  you 
when  I  did  go  alone  and  get  down  and  utter  a 
prayer."  I  said:  '^You  have  come  this  distance  to 
ask  me  to  tell  you  the  trouble.  You  do  not  need  that 
I  tell  you  that  you  have  trifled  with  your  profession, 
and  are  trifling  with  your  Saviour,  and  are  trifling 


AN  OLD  TESTAMENT  GOOD  MAN      105 

with  your  church,  and  are  trifling  with  the  Scriptures, 
and  are  trifling  with  everything  holy.  You  want  to 
know  why  you  have  doubts?  You  have  only  to  use 
your  mind  a  second  to  find  out.  You  want  to  know 
why  you  have  no  peace  and  no  joy?  You  want  to 
know  why  the  joy  of  those  other  years  is  all  gone — 
that  zest,  that  interest  in  religion?  The  answer  is 
right  at  your  side.  There  is  no  conscientious  devo- 
tion in  your  life  to  God,  nor  will  you  have  those 
bright,  blessed  days  again  until  you  play  the  man  for 
the  Almighty." 

Oh,  my  brethren  and  friends,  God  is  my  witness, 
there  never  passes  a  day  that  the  most  fervent  prayer 
of  my  soul  for  you  is  not  offered  that  you  may  wholly 
follow  God !  Oh,  I  grieve,  beyond  what  you  can 
know,  to  see  you  living  any  double,  half-hearted  life. 
I  grieve  to  see  you  missing  that  steadfast  joy,  and 
that  Christian  power,  that  can  only  come  to  the  men 
who  walk  as  Caleb  walked,  who  are  straightforward 
and  pronounced,  and  who  give  the  benefit  of  the 
doubt  always  to  God,  and  never  to  themselves.  It 
comes  to  me  again  and  again  what  a  brother  said 
some  time  ago  in  this  church,  that  for  a  long  while 
he  just  had  enough  religion  to  make  himself  thor- 
oughly miserable,  to  give  him  a  kind  of  a  toothache 
feeling.  You  know  exactly  what  he  meant.  He  was 
living  a  half-hearted  life.  There  is  the  explanation 
of  10,000  troubles  in  the  Christian  life.  Men  do  not 
wholly  follow  God.  Let  Caleb  teach  us  at  that  vital 
point,  for  here  is  the  real  secret  of  his  masterful  life. 

The  hour  is  past.  You  will  indulge  me  this  other 
word.  What  was  the  result  of  it  all  in  Caleb's  life  ? 
God  gave  him  long  life.     Nor  was  that  all.    God  gave 


106      AN  OLD  TESTAMENT  GOOD  MAN 

him  continued  opportunity  and  strength  to  serve  Him 
with  that  long  life,  so  that  in  his  old  age,  at  eighty- 
five,  he  had  the  greatest  victory  that  he  had  ever  had 
in  all  his  life.  Oh,  isn't  it  glorious  for  a  person  to 
grow  old  like  that  ?  The  other  day  an  old  preacher 
came  into  one  of  our  Workers'  Conferences,  and  he 
said  :  ^^  I  preached  yesterday  to  my  people,  and  my 
text  was,  *  That  I  might  finish  my  course  with  joy  ! '  " 
He  said,  **  I  was  hedging  for  myself.  I  want  to  finish 
my  course  with  joy,  not  to  finish  it  soured  and  em- 
bittered and  pessimistic,  making  everybody  miserable 
about  me,  but  I  mean,  by  God's  grace,  to  finish  my 
course  with  joy."  He  said,  ''I  told  my  country 
church  yesterday  I  was  going  in  to  serve  them  with 
more  zeal  and  love  than  ever  before."  He  will  not 
get  old.  He  will  not  be  a  misery  to  his  children  and 
grandchildren.  He  has  the  right  view- point  of  life. 
Caleb  had  it,  and  God  gave  him  increased  opportunity 
and  strength  as  a  great  leader,  and  then  God  rewarded 
him  with  the  great  possession  that  forty-five  years  be- 
fore he  had  seen.  And  then,  with  it  all,  God  gave 
him  rest. 

O  soul!  is  Caleb's  God  yours?  Eeceive  Him  to- 
day to  be  yours,  and  follow  that  God  like  Caleb  fol- 
lowed Him.  And  if  you  are  here  to-day  with  all 
sorts  of  subterfuges,  and  evasions,  and  speculations, 
and  doubtful  questions  in  your  life,  just  be  done  with 
them,  and  just  be  straightforward  and  pronounced 
and  true,  like  Caleb,  to  God.  And  your  light  and 
day  and  usefulness  in  the  Christian  life  will  grow 
brighter  and  brighter,  even  until  that  blissful  day 
when  you  shall  hear  the  Master  say  :  *'  It  is  enough  .; 
y^  come  home,  My  friend,  to  be  forever  with  the  Lord.  ^ 


VI 

The  Temptation  of  Our  Saviour 

Text:  "Then  was  Jesns  led  up  of  the  Spirit 
into  the  wilderness  to  be  tempted  of  the  devil." 
— Matthew  iv.  1. 

THE  temptation  of  Jesus  was  not  a  visionary 
one,  but  it  was  a  real  one.  He  was  tempted 
in  all  points  like  as  we  are,  yet  without  sin. 
The  only  difference  between  His  experience  and  ours 
is  that  we  yield  often  to  temptation,  while  He  yielded 
never.  It  behooved  Him  to  be  so  that  in  all  respects 
He  would  be  touched  with  the  feeling  of  our  infirmi- 
ties ;  and  now  no  temptation  that  comes  to  man  is 
beyond  His  appreciation  and  sympathy  and  help. 

It  is  significant  that  the  temptation  of  Jesus  follows 
His  baptism  immediately.  During  that  wonderful 
baptismal  scene  the  heavens  were  opened,  and  God's 
Spirit  descended  like  a  dove  and  lighted  upon  Him, 
and  out  from  the  heavens  there  came  a  voice  which 
said,  ^^This  is  My  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well 
pleased."  How  swift  and  surprising  are  the  muta- 
tions of  human  experience  !  Just  after  the  heavenly 
proclamation  that  He  is  God's  Son,  immediately 
comes  this  sore  temptation.  Well  did  a  great  preacher 
say,  "  Do  not  question  the  validity  of  your  baptism 
because  it  was  succeeded  by  a  fierce  temptation." 
That  is  often  true.  Triumph  is  often  followed  by 
trial  instantly.    The  hour  of  exaltation  is  very  often 

107 


108    THE  TEMPTATION  OF  OUR  SAVIOUE 

succeeded  immediately  by  the  hour  of  humiliation 
and  trial.  The  wondrous  voice  from  out  the  clouds, 
the  heavenly  voice,  is  often  succeeded  by  the  voice 
from  beneath,  the  voice  from  the  pit.  Blessed  shall 
it  be  for  us  to  remember  this,  and  then  shall  we 
know  that  our  sonship  with  God  is  not  dependent 
upon  the  rapidly  varying  moods  of  our  earthly  ex- 
perience. 

You  will  note  that  this  trial  of  Jesus  was  not  an 
accident.  See  the  text,  **  Then  was  Jesus  led  up  of 
the  Spirit  into  the  wilderness  to  be  tempted  of  the 
devil. ^'  ^^Led  up  to  be  tempted" — that  is  not  an 
accident.  There  is  purpose  in  that.  Christ's  tempta- 
tions were  not  accidental,  but  they  were  all  included 
in  the  great  purpose  which  God  had  respecting  the 
life  and  sufferings  and  death  of  His  Son.  ^*  Led  up 
of  the  Spirit  into  the  wilderness  to  be  tempted  of  the 
devil.''  That  is  the  language.  I  grant  you  that 
there  is  deep  mystery  in  it,  and  yet  the  great  truth 
still  abides  that  God's  purpose  pours  through  it  all. 
Take  away  from  life  the  thought  of  its  education,  and 
you  have  destroyed  the  deep  meaning  of  human  life. 
^'Led  up  of  the  Spirit  to  be  tempted  of  the  devil." 
That  is  the  strange  language,  and  yet  the  Scriptures 
show  that  thought  all  through  their  ever  unfolding 
revelations.  Not  that  man  is  solicited  of  God  to  do 
evil.  Never!  Never!  ^^Let  no  man  say  when  he 
is  tempted,  I  am  tempted  of  God  ;  for  God  cannot  be 
tempted  with  evil,  neither  tempteth  He  any  man." 
In  no  instance  is  man  ever  tempted  of  God  to  do  evil, 
but  in  many  instances,  yea,  in  the  instance  of  the  life 
of  every  child  of  God,  every  one  is  subjected  to  trial, 
to  discipline,  to  education.     Do  not  the  Scriptures 


THE  TEMPTATION  OF  OUE  SAVIOUR    109 

elearly  show  that  in  the  long  ago  God  did  tempt 
Abraham !  That  is,  He  tried  him  ;  He  put  him  to 
the  test.  He  subjected  him  to  a  process  of  self- 
examination  and  education  that  more  than  any  other 
experience  would  strengthen  his  character.  Under- 
staud,  then,  that  trial  is  an  essential  part  of  God's 
great  program  for  our  lives.  ^'  Beloved,  think  it  not 
strange  concerning  the  fiery  trial  which  is  to  try  you, 
as  though  some  strauge  thing  happened  unto  you ; 
but  rejoice,  inasmuch  as  ye  are  partakers  of  Christ's 
sufferings. " 

You  notice  that  the  Spirit  of  God  here  led  Jesus 
'Muto  the  wilderness"  to  have  His  sore  conflict. 
How  often  that  is  the  case !  Was  it  not  so  with 
Moses  for  forty  long  years  ?  If  Moses  is  to  formulate 
the  great  principles  of  law  and  education  and  religion 
that  are  forever  to  dominate  the  world's  thought  and 
largely  shape  its  life,  it  is  needful  that  he  spend  forty 
years  in  the  wilderness.  Likewise  also  for  a  season 
must  the  wilderness  be  the  home  of  Elijah.  It  must 
needs  be  true  also  of  John  the  Baptist,  who  is  to  preach 
repentance  as  none  other  ever  did  preach  it,  save  the 
Lord.  And  so  of  Paul,  if  he  is  to  be  earth's  first 
apostle,  he  must  spend  three  years  in  the  quiet  of 
Arabia.  If  Buuyan  is  to  write  an  allegory  that  shall 
be  unmatched  and  forever  matchless,  he  needs  the 
twelve  years'  imprisonment  of  Bedford  jail.  If  Milton 
is  to  write  a  poem  that  has  no  peer  of  its  kind,  he 
must  know  the  isolation  that  came  to  him  from  blind- 
ness and  other  sore  trials.  All  these  wondrous 
workers  must  needs  be  taken  into  the  wilderness,  to 
have  a  trial,  to  have  a  testing  time,  to  go  through 
the  discipline  of  training  that  the  wilderness  alone 


110    THE  TEMPTATION  OF  OUE  SAVIOUR 

can  give  them.  My  brethren,  the  danger  of  this  age 
is  that  people  live  too  much  in  crowds.  No  man 
shall  ever  come  to  the  highest  mark  as  a  thinker  and 
useful  worker  who  lives  always  in  the  crowd.  We 
have  our  magnificent  systems  of  education,  and  our 
myriad  inventions  for  the  saving  of  labor  and  for 
adding  to  man's  convenience  ;  and  then  we  have  the 
great  system  of  news-gathering,  that  rains  all  the 
news  of  this  planet  down  at  our  doors  every  morning 
and  every  evening  ;  and  thus,  it  is  to  be  feared,  we 
are  getting  away  from  the  race  of  the  world's  great 
thinkers,  because  we  are  not  led  often  euough  to  the 
wilderness,  that  there,  single  handed  and  alone,  we 
may  think  out  and  fight  out  some  of  the  deep  battles 
of  the  inner  life. 

Let  us  look  at  these  three  temptations  that  came  to 
Jesus  in  the  wilderness.  These  three  comprehend 
every  possible  temptation  that  ever  comes  to  man- 
kind. First,  there  was  the  temptation  through  the 
body.  After  forty  days  and  forty  nights  of  fasting, 
Jesus  is  an  hungered.  For  days  and  nights  He  has 
been  miraculously  sustained.  Now  His  human  body 
is  thrilled  with  the  sense  of  hunger.  The  humanity 
cries  out  and  gives  expression  to  its  pain.  Just  in 
the  nick  of  time  the  devil  appears.  Oh,  he  is  an 
arrant  coward.  There  is  not  a  thing  brave  about 
the  devil.  He  is  always  sinuous  and  slimy  and  cow- 
ardly. He  never  did  a  courageous  thing  in  his  life. 
He  never  came  to  a  man  save  at  his  weak  point  and 
at  his  weak  time.  Now,  when  the  humanity  of 
Jesus  is  put  to  its  sorest  test,  the  shrewd,  cowardly 
imp  of  the  pit  appears  ctnd  appeals  with  a  temptation 
to  Jesus'  hungry  body.     What  was  that  temptation  I 


THE  TEMPTATION  OF  OUR  SAVIOUE    111 

Yielding  to  it  would  have  meant  what  ?  The  yield- 
ing to  it  on  the  part  of  Jesus  would  have  meant  the 
palpable  distrust  of  His  Father.  Satan  said  to  Him  : 
*'  Why,  you  are  hungry.  Make  bread  out  of  rocks. 
Tarn  these  stones  into  biscuit.  A  hungry  man 
ought  to  eaf  Jesus  could  have  done  it,  but  to  have 
yielded  to  that  temptation  would  have  been  to  show 
forth  absolute  distrust  of  His  Father  and  utterly 
discard  His  guardianship  and  protection.  And  so 
Jesus  hurled  back  at  the  tempter  the  sublime  state- 
ment, '*It  is  written,  Man  shall  not  live  by  bread 
alone,  but  by  every  word  that  proceedeth  out  of  the 
mouth  of  God."  Christ  here  says  that  His  Father 
does  not  have  to  turn  the  rocks  into  bread  in  order 
to  sustain  the  life  of  His  Son.  He  can  preserve  life 
otherwise.  Bread  is  not  the  main  thing  in  a  man's 
life.  God's  Word,  proceeding  out  of  His  mouth,  is 
far  more  worthy  and  helpful  than  mere  earthly 
bread.  Christ  would  yield  not  to  the  seductive 
tempter.  He  would  trust  His  Father  whose  provi- 
dential love  would  in  no  wise  fail  Him. 

That  is  a  piercing  temptation,  to  which  all  men  are 
subjected,  the  temptation  that  comes  to  the  body.  It 
was  by  just  that  that  Adam  and  Eve  were  led  to  fall. 
The  temptation  began  with  an  appeal  to  the  body. 
With  subtle  voice  the  tempter  whispered,  '*  The  tree 
is  good  for  food,  and  it  is  pleasant  to  the  eyes,  and 
it  is  a  tree  to  be  desired  to  make  one  wise,"  and  by 
this  time  Eve  was  ready  to  eat  of  the  fruit,  and  to 
give  also  unto  her  husband,  and  even  thus  was 
brought  to  pass  the  fall  and  ruin  of  the  race.  The 
temptation  of  the  body,  its  name  is  legion.  There 
is  selfishness,  appealing  to  us  on  the  one  hand  with 


112    THE  TEMPTATION  OF  OUE  SAVIOUE 

its  manifold  expressions.  There  is  appetite,  pulling 
and  tugging  at  the  very  vitals  of  our  life  every  day. 
There  is  indolence,  that  rocks  us  and  soothes  us,  and 
continually  whispers  to  us  sweet  things  about  the 
welfare  and  comfort  of  our  dear  bodies.  Appetite 
in  all  its  forms  unceasingly  knocks  at  the  door  of 
our  hearts  and  talks  about  the  necessity  of  our  eatiog 
this  particular  food  and  doing  this  particular  thing. 
Well  might  Paul  cry  out,  ' '  Who  shall  deliver  me 
from  the  body  of  this  death  ? ' '  Very  many  of  the 
sorest  temptations  of  life  come  through  the  body. 
This  one  appealed  to  Jesus  through  His  body,  but 
victoriously  He  met  it,  and  completely  foiled  the 
tempter. 

Then  the  tempter  approached  our  Lord  again 
from  an  utterly  different  standpoint.  He  takes  Him 
up  into  the  holy  city,  and  sets  Him  on  a  pinnacle  of 
the  temple,  and  now  he  makes  to  Him  this  remark- 
able statement ;  ^'  Cast  thyself  down,  for  it  is  written, 
He  shall  give  His  angels  charge  concerning  thee,  and 
in  their  hands  they  shall  bear  thee  up,  lest  at  any 
time  thou  dash  thy  foot  against  a  stone.  ^'  Do  you 
see  how  sly  it  was  ?  This  is  wonderful  for  the  devil 
to  be  quoting  Scripture,  but  he  quotes  it  here,  just 
like  he  always  quotes  it.  He  does  not  quote  it  cor- 
rectly. What  he  says  here  does  sound  like  Scrip- 
ture, but  he  leaves  out  the  salient  point.  Here  is 
what  he  says  to  the  Master  :  ''  Cast  thyself  down  ;  for 
it  is  written,  He  shall  give  His  angels  charge  con- 
cerning thee."  Satan  fails  to  quote  all  the  sentence. 
He  left  out  a  few  words  that  were  the  key  to  all  oi 
it.  These  were  the  words  left  out:  ''To  keep  thee 
in  all  thy  ways."    That  is  to  say,  God  will  keep 


THE  TEMPTATION  OF  OUR  SAVIOUR    113 

thee  in  thy  rightful  waj^s,  in  thine  appointed  ways, 
in  God's  providential  ways,  in  the  ways  marked  out 
by  His  own  infinite  wisdom  and  love.  He  will  keep 
thee  in  these  ways,  but  the  devil  leaves  all  that 
qualifying  condition  out,  he  omits  the  vital  point  of 
the  Scripture.  This  is  a  subtle  temptation  indeed. 
Do  you  see  its  cunning  and  audacity  ?  It  is  nothing 
short  of  an  appeal  to  Christ  to  experiment  upon  the 
purpose  and  power  of  God,  and  to  force  meanings 
into  His  promises  wholly  foreign  to  the  intention  of 
His  Spirit,  and  to  put  God  into  a  situation  forbidden 
both  by  His  Word  and  nature.  Its  meaning  broadly 
interpreted  is,  let  man  do  what  he  wills,  however 
careless  or  wilful  or  self-risking  it  may  be.  God  is 
pledged  to  keep  him.  Criminally  sad  is  this  wrest- 
ing of  the  Divine  promises.  Just  here  even  many  a 
Christian  stumbles  to  his  great  shame  and  harm. 
He  shuts  his  eyes  and  presumes  upon  God.  Have 
you  not  seen  it  an  hundred  times  ?  Men  thus  trifle 
with  health,  with  character,  with  evil  influences. 
They  dwell  upon  their  own  great  strength,  they 
write  down  strong  resolutions,  they  pray ;  but  they 
turn  from  all  these  into  presumptuous  sins.  God 
has  a  plan  and  limit  and  purpose  and  boundary  in 
all  that  He  says  and  does.  He  never  anywhere  says 
that  His  child  shall  be  safely  upheld  if  he  presumes 
to  cast  himself  down  from  the  pinnacle  of  the  temple. 
Only  does  He  promise  to  keep  His  children  in  lawful 
ways ;  but  they  must  not  presume  to  dally  with 
danger  and  say,  God  will  keep  me ;  nor  to  go  forth 
into  sin,  saying,  grace  will  abound. 

You  will  also  notice  that  the  devil  here  talks  about 
**  angels.'^     *^Cast  thyself  down,  and  He  shall  giv^ 


114    THE  TEMPTATION  OF  OUR  SAVIOUR 

His  angels  charge  concerning  thee.^'  Yes,  he  talks 
glibly  about  *' angels."  You  have  heard  some  men 
talk  with  a  degree  of  seeming  familiarity  with  God 
and  His  Word,  and  yet  the  trend  of  their  lives 
stamps  them  as  the  enemies  of  the  cross  of  Christ. 
The  devil  quoted  Scripture  and  talked  about  angels 
and  all  that,  and  yet  he  was  the  adversary,  the  se- 
ducer, the  old  dragon  of  the  pit.  Quoting  Scripture 
does  not  mean  that  a  man  is  in  fellowship  with  God. 
Talking  about  angels  does  not  mean  that  a  man  has 
any  sort  of  kinship  to  them.  Jesus  repelled  this 
temptation  as  He  did  the  other,  and  the  devil  is 
hurled  into  defeat  again. 

And  now  Satan  comes  the  third  time,  and  this  time 
he  takes  Jesus  up  on  an  exceeding  high  mountain, 
and  shows  Him  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  and 
the  glory  of  them,  and  then  he  makes  to  Jesus  this 
proposal :  '^If  you  will  fall  down  and  worship  me, 
I  will  give  them  all  to  you."  Unparalleled  impu- 
dence !  Unbridled  presumption !  Not  a  solitary  inch 
of  apy  of  these  kingdoms  did  the  devil  own,  not  one 
has  he  ever  owned,  and  not  one  shall  he  ever  own. 
To  be  sure  he  is  here,  but  he  is  an  intruder  here.  He 
is  on  property  that  is  not  his  own,  and  it  is  the  busi- 
ness of  the  redeemed  of  God  while  they  abide  on  the 
earth  to  contest  every  inch  of  the  ground  with  this 
personal  devil.  Nor  shall  our  work  be  done  below 
till  the  whole  earth  be  redeemed  to  God.  There  is  a 
personal  devil  operating  among  men,  seeking  ever  to 
influence  and  destroy  them,  just  as  literally  as  there  is 
a  personal  God  seeking  to  redeem  and  save.  The 
denial  of  this  proposition  is  the  baldest  infidelity. 
But  suppose  the  devil  had  had  all  those  kingdoms  of 


THE  TEMPTATION  OP  OUR  SAVIOUR    115 

the  world  that  he  declaimed  about.  Suppose  they 
had  been  his,  for  argument's  sake.  Could  the  Lord 
have  yielded  to  his  proposal !  Nay,  never ;  it 
would  have  meant  instant  dethronement  of  the  Al- 
mighty. It  would  have  been  the  instant  annihila- 
tion of  the  kingdom  of  righteousness.  What  is  this 
proposal  heie  1  It  is  substantially  this :  The  devil 
says,  ^*  Saviour,  Messiah,  Son  of  God,  I  have  a  pro- 
posal to  make  to  you.  You  have  three  years  yet  to 
live.  You  have  just  been  baptized.  You  have  three 
years  in  which  to  preach  and  suffer,  and  to  be  scourged, 
and  to  be  wounded  in  heart,  both  by  your  enemies  and 
friends,  and  at  the  end  to  die  on  the  shameful  tree  of 
the  cross.  You  have  all  that  ahead  of  you.  Sup- 
pose you  and  I  go  into  partnership.  You  bow  down 
and  say  just  one  prayer  to  me,  and  I  will  make  you  a 
title  deed  to  all  of  this  business.  Let  us  go  into 
partnership.  Let  us  have  an  amalgamation  of  heaven  ^ 
and  hell.  Let  us  have  a  compromise  of  the  two  great , 
establishments  upon  mutual  terms,  and  then  the  liow 
and  the  lamb  will  lie  down  side  by  side,  and  the  devil 
and  God  will  be  twin  brothers,  and  there  will  be  no 
conflict  at  all.  That  means  for  you,  O  Jesus,  no 
humiliation,  no  weariness,  nor  pain,  nor  conflict 
with  all  the  complexities  and  difficulties  of  your 
plan  of  salvation.  And  it  also  means  for  you,  O 
Jesus,  no  betrayal,  no  dark  Gethsemane,  no  Cal- 
vary and  no  death.  Take  a  nearer  route  to  ruler- 
ship.  Just  make  one  concession  to  Satan,  and  he  will 
vacate  the  field,  and  you  shall  have  it  all  your  own 
way."  That  is  Satan's  distinct  proposal  in  that 
awful  hour.  Shall  the  Lord  just  pander  one  moment 
to  this  proposal  from  the  pit  I    Is  there  anywhere 


116    THE  TEMPTATION  OF  OUR  SAVIOUR 

any  possible  amalgamation  of  the  principles  of 
righteousness  with  the  principles  of  unrighteousness  ? 
Nay,  never ;  it  cannot  be.  If  Jesus  had  that  day 
bowed  before  Satan  and  said  :  ^'  I  will  say  one  prayer 
unto  thee,  O  Satan,  for  just  one  minute,"  the  king- 
dom of  righteousness  would  have  been  forever  anni- 
hilated that  same  minute.  That  momentary  com- 
promise would  have  meant  defeat  eternal  to  the 
kingdom  of  God.  There  is  a  vast  field  of  thought, 
my  brethren,  here  in  this  last  point.  There  is  not  to 
be  a  scintilla  of  compromise  between  the  kingdom  of 
evil  and  the  kingdom  of  righteousness.  Any  pander- 
ing to  any  of  the  priucii)les  of  the  kingdom  of  evil  is 
but  a  yielding  to  this  subtle  seduction  and  tempta- 
tion of  the  devil,  when  he  asked  Christ  on  the  moun- 
tain to  give  him  one  moment^  s  concession  and 
worship.  That  moment  would  have  meant  eternal 
treason  to  truth,  to  righteousness,  and  to  God. 

Deep  and  broad  is  the  lesson  suggested  by  this 
third  temptation.  There  is  not  one  inch  of  room  for 
pretense  or  double  dealing  in  the  kingdom  of  God. 

Every  questionable  method  in  Christ^  s  church,  of 
any  shape,  form,  or  fashion  is  but  the  pandering  to 
the  kingdom  of  evil  and  the  yielding  to  this  third 
temptation  that  came  to  Christ.  'Tis  the  same  old 
suggestion  that  so  oft  we  hear,  ''  Let  us  do  evil  that 
good  may  come."  Every  such  policy  is  the  palpable 
and  fundamental  violation  and  subversion  of  every 
principle  inculcated  by  God's  Word.  I  do  not 
hesitate  to  say  this  morning  that  if  Christ's  praying 
one  prayer  unto  Satan  that  day  would  have  won  all 
the  world.  He  could  not  have  made  such  concession. 
A  salvation  so  effected  would  have  been  no  salvation 


THE  TEMPTATION  OF  OUE  SAYIOUE    117 

at  all.  The  Lord,  He  is  God,  and  to  Him  alone  shall 
be  given  homage  and  worship.  For  Jesus  to  have 
made  one  concession  would  have  been  the  utter  anni- 
hilation of  His  own  righteous  character,  and  His  own 
rightful  authority  over  the  children  of  men.  You 
must  not  do  evil  that  good  may  come.  If,  by  the 
doing  of  some  present  evil,  you  think  you  can  see 
good  out  there  in  the  distance,  you  are  not  to  do  it. 
You  are  not  allowed  to  do  evil  whatever  the  allure- 
ment or  harvest  promised.  That  is  identically  what 
Satan  here  proposes:  *'0  Christ,  do  a  little  evil, 
and  I  will  get  off  the  ground  !  Say  one  prayer  to  me, 
and  I  will  vacate  the  whole  territory."  But  the  Lord 
held  out  in  the  conflict  steadily  against  Satan,  and  re- 
pelled him  a  third  time  with  the  wondrous  sentences 
of  His  Father's  Word.  Somebody  has  suggestively 
said  that  ''  Of  all  the  essences  that  the  devil  likes,  he 
best  likes  acquiescence."  *'  Resist  the  devil,  and  he 
will  flee  from  you."  And  the  supreme  weapon  for 
such  resistance  is  that  same  conquering  one  used  by 
Christ :  ''  It  is  written."  In  all  your  conflicts  with 
temptation,  O  Christian,  take  'Hhe  sword  of  the 
Spirit  which  is  the  Word  of  God." 

Did  you  ever  notice  where  the  Lord  got  all  these 
quotations  ?  He  got  them  from  the  Book  of  Deute- 
ronomy. I  haven't  a  doubt  that  our  Lord  knew 
that  many  centuries  later  certain  clever  little  men 
would  be  trying  to  destroy  this  Book  of  Deuteronomy. 
This  is  the  book  they  are  specially  after  now.  The 
Divine  Son  of  God,  looking  down  through  the  ages, 
saw  the  coming  conflict,  and  He  got  these  quotations 
out  of  the  book  that  He  knew  would  be  so  vehemently 
attacked. 


118   THE  TEMPTATIOI^  OF  OUR  SAVIOUR 

There  is  this  other  suggestion  in  such  quotation— 
the  overwhelming  argument  for  the  verbal  inspira- 
tion of  God's  Word.  ^Not  simply  the  inspiration  of 
ideas,  not  simply  the  inspiration  of  thoughts,  but  the 
inspiration  of  the  very  words  of  God's  Book.  That  is 
an  intangible,  mazy,  far-off,  unapproachable,  inde- 
finable, inexplicable  species  of  inspiration  that  leaves 
out  the  plenary,  verbal  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures. Jesus  here  forever  gives  this  book  His  endorse- 
ment. 

But  now,  after  these  three  conflicts  with  the  tempter, 
what  becomes  of  the  Saviour?  The  devil  is  com- 
pletely routed;  but  what  of  the  Saviour?  Here  is 
the  answer:  *' Behold,  angels  came  and  ministered 
unto  Him."  All  during  that  dreadful  conflict,  lin- 
gering near  by,  the  angels  of  God  watched  the  awful 
struggle,  as  the  Son  of  God  did  meet  in  the  open  field 
the  dark  fiend  of  the  pit,  and  contest  with  him  every 
inch  of  the  ground.  And  now,  when  the  devil  is 
baffled,  defeated  and  driven  away,  the  ^'angels  came 
and  ministered  unto  Jesus."  Thus  it  is  evermore. 
When  Jesus  prayed  in  Gethsemane  that  last  awful 
night,  before  He  took  up  the  march  to  the  cross,  say- 
ing, '^  nevertheless,  not  My  will,  but  Thine  be  done," 
*'  an  angel  appeared  unto  Him  from  heaven,  strength- 
ening Him."  An  angel  came  when  Elijah  was  yon- 
der, speeding  away  from  the  land  of  his  enemies,  who 
sought  to  destroy  him.  He  rests  yonder  in  the  moun- 
tains, hungry,  and  weary,  and  alone.  An  angel  came 
and  brought  food  unto  him.  The  angels,  doubtless, 
are  spectators  in  all  our  conflicts  with  the  temptations 
of  life.  ^^The  angel  of  the  Lord  encampeth  round 
about  them  that  fear  Him,  and  delivereth  them.'' 


THE  TEMPTATION  OF  OUR  SAVIOUR    119 

What  is  the  outstanding  lesson  to-day  for  us  in  all 
this  story  of  God's  temptation  ?  The  lesson  is  for  us 
to  hold  right  on  to  the  right,  ever  repelling  the  tempter 
with  this  sure  weapon  which  our  Lord  did  use — "It 
is  written."  Oh,  be  not  misled  and  overcome  by  the 
old  fiend  of  the  pit.  Evermore  stand  on  the  sure 
Word  of  God,  and  here  shall  you  find  rest  and  victory 
for  your  souls. 

There  are  two  plans  whereby  men  may  resist  temp- 
tation. The  one  has  been  called  ' '  The  plan  of  resist- 
ance;^' the  other  "The  plan  of  counter-attraction." 
Both  are  illustrated  from  stories  in  Greek  mythology. 
The  one  finds  illustration  in  the  story  of  the  Greeks 
who  must  sail  by  the  Island  of  the  Sirens,  as  they  re- 
turned from  Troy.  Bewitching  strains  of  music  came 
to  the  Greeks  as  they  neared  the  island,  so  that  they 
were  seized  with  the  desire  to  throw  themselves  into 
the  sea  and  swim  to  the  sirens.  But  this  would  have 
meant  their  certain  and  speedy  death,  and  for  this 
alone  the  treacherous  sirens  sang  their  enchanting 
songs.  Then  the  leader  made  the  Greeks  to  fill  their 
ears  with  wax,  and  had  himself  bound  thoroughly  to 
the  boat  so  that  when  they  passed  the  shore  where  the 
sirens  dwelled,  and  they  should  begin  their  strains 
of  entrancing  music,  the  men  with  stopped  ears  could 
not  hear,  and  the  leader,  though  he  should  wish  to 
go,  would  be  bound  hand  and  foot  so  that  he  could 
not ;  and  thus  they  could  make  the  journey  in  safety. 
This  is  the  method  of  resistance,  but  that  method  is 
not  the  best.  The  other  story  illustrated  the  other 
method,  the  method  of  counter-attraction.  It  is  the 
story  of  the  Argonauts,  who  sailed  with  Jason  in 
search  of  the  golden  fleece,  and  they  also  had  to  round 


120   THE  TEMPTATION  OF  OUE  SAVIOUR 

that  same  southern  shore  of  Italy,  where  sang  the 
sirens.  They  took  on  board  with  them  Orpheus, 
whose  music  entranced  the  very  beasts  of  the  forests, 
and  made  even  the  trees  to  wave  before  him  in  hom 
age.  And  now  as  they  come  where  the  sirens  dwell, 
and  as  the  sirens  begin  to  play  the  soft  music,  Or- 
pheus strikes  the  wondrous  notes  of  his  lyre,  so  that 
all  the  air  vibrates  with  the  sweet  melodies,  and  all 
the  sailors  on  the  boat  laugh  to  scorn  the  sirens,  and 
the  voyagers  round  the  shore  in  safety.  That  is  the 
method  whereby  you  and  I  are  to  overcome  tempta- 
tion in  the  experiences  of  our  earthly  life.  This 
alone  is  the  sure  way  of  triumph.  ^'  This  I  say,  then, 
Walk  in  the  spirit,  and  ye  shall  not  fulfil  the  lusts  of 
the  flesh."  "  Ye  shall  know  the  truth,  and  the  truth 
shall  make  you  free."  ^'If  the  Son  shall  make  you 
free,  you  shall  be  free,  indeed." 

O  my  wearied,  battling,  tempted  friends,  whether 
saved  or  lost,  freely  and  fully  admit  Jesus  into  your 
hearfc  and  life,  and  then  shall  you  overcome.  And 
know  that  if  left  to  your  own  poor  strength,  you  shall 
surely  go  down  before  temptation's  power.  Will  you 
not  heed  His  precious  call  to-day  ?  It  is  this  :  '^  Be- 
hold, I  stand  at  the  door  and  knock  ;  if  any  man 
hear  My  voice,  and  open  the  door,  I  will  come  to 
him,  and  will  sup  with  him,  and  he  with  Me." 
*' And  whosoever  will,  let  him  take  the  water  of  life 
freely.^'  Come  to  Him  now.  Cast  yourself  utterly 
and  forever  upon  Him,  and  you  shall  find  rest  for 
your  soul. 


vn 

Intercessory  Prayer 

Text:  *' Moreover,  as  for  me,  God  forbid  that 
I  should  sin  against  the  Lord  in  ceasing  to  pray 
for  you." — 1  Samuel  xii.  23. 

THE  text  is  one  of  the  concluding  statements 
of  the  address  of  the  prophet  Samuel  to  his 
people.  I  read  you  the  chapter  a  moment 
ago,  that  you  might  see  the  setting  of  the  text,  v 
Samuel  was  God's  prophet,  and  spoke  to  the  people 
the  things  that  God  would  have  them  know,  that 
knowing  they  might  obey.  But  after  a  while  they 
became  impatient  under  his  counsel  and  leadership, 
and  clamored  for  a  king,  and  so  persistently  clam- 
ored, that  Saul  was  anointed  king  over  them.  And 
then  the  prophet  reminded  them  of  his  advanced  age, 
of  his  gray  hairs,  of  his  long  life  of  service  for  them  ; 
and  m  his  last  words  to  them,  reminded  them  that 
sin,  whenever  and  by  whomsoever  committed,  would 
be  punished  by  the  Almighty  ;  and  if  they  expected 
God's  mercy  and  blessings,  sin  must  be  put  away 
from  them,  and  obedience  to  the  commandments  of 
God  must  characterize  all  their  ways.  In  his  address 
there  was  brought  home  to  the  people  a  realization  of 
the  gravity  of  their  sin,  that  they  had  even  gone  to  the 
desperate  length  of  discarding  God's  prophet  and 
clamoring  for  a  selfish,  ambitious  king  to  be  their 

121 


122  INTEEOESSOEY  PEAYER 

leader.  And  so  they  cried  uuto  the  prophet  in  their 
distress  and  under  the  sense  of  their  terrible  situa. 
tion,  that  he  would  pray  God  not  to  leave  them,  to  their 
wicked  devices,  nor  to  allow  the  calamity  to  overtake 
them  that  even  then  was  impending.  His  noble  an- 
swer was :  ' '  Moreover,  as  for  me,  God  forbid  that  I 
should  sin  against  the  Lord  in  ceasing  to  pray  for 
you." 

It  is  one  of  the  sublimest  utterances  that  ever  fell 
from  any  man's  lips,  especially  when  you  take  into 
consideration  the  circumstances  of  such  utterance. 
The  old  man  has  lived  unselfishly  for  his  people. 
He  has  wrought  with  all  possible  devotion  and  self- 
abnegation  through  a  long  life  for  his  people.  Not 
for  himself  has  he  wrought,  but  for  them,  for  their 
welfare,  for  their  happiness,  for  the  great  causes  and 
principles  that  made  for  their  profit,  both  for  the 
present  and  for  the  future.  Now,  at  the  close  of  his 
notable  life,  they  discard  him  and  discredit  him. 
And  then  later  they  turn  to  him  in  their  desperation 
and  extremity,  by  reason  of  their  sins,  and  ask  him 
to  pray  for  them,  and  he  answers  :  ^ '  As  for  me,  God 
forbid  that  I  should  sin  against  the  Lord  in  ceasing 
to  pray  for  you.''     It  is  a  marvelous  utterance. 

The  text  suggests  the  measureless  importance  of 
intercessory  prayer.  Upon  that  theme  I  would  speak 
this  morning  :  The  importance  of  intercessory  prayer. 
It  goes  without  any  argument  that  very  few,  if  any 
of  us,  realize  properly  the  far-reaching  moment  of 
intercessory  prayer  in  carrying  on  the  cause  of  God 
in  this  world.  Our  text  suggests,  first  of  all,  our 
responsibility  to  God  for  our  praying.  When  they 
appealed  to  Samuel  not  to  cease  to  pray  for  them, 


INTERCESSOEY  PRAYER  123 

the  prophet  answered  :  "  I  could  not  so  sin  against 
God  as  to  cease  to  pray  for  you.^'  Our  praying, 
then,  has  a  relation  of  personal  responsibility  in  the 
sight  of  God.  Man  is  responsible  for  every  oppor- 
tunity with  which  his  life  is  in  any  way  invested. 
All  of  life's  talents,  its  privileges,  its  opportunities, 
are  gifts  from  the  Almighty  to  us,  and  unto  Him  we 
are  responsible  for  the  use  or  the  abuse  of  them  all. 
Man  is  responsible  for  the  abuse  made  of  his  edu- 
cation, for  the  education  that  he  does  have,  for  the 
education  that  he  can  have.  For  the  best  possible 
development  of  the  resources  of  mind  and  heart  and 
life  every  man  is  responsible.  Man  is  likewise  re- 
sponsible for  his  influence.  If  he  could  bring  to  pass 
certain  great  causes  for  the  welfare  of  men  and  the 
glory  of  his  Maker,  by  the  use  of  his  influence,  then 
he  shall  justly  be  held  accountable  in  the  sight  of  the 
Almighty  for  such  use  or  abuse  of  influence.  Man 
is  responsible  for  the  use  or  abuse  of  his  money,  and 
he  unto  whom  the  Lord  gives  the  power  to  get  wealth 
shall  as  certainly  be  held  responsible  for  the  use  or 
abuse  of  that  talent  as  any  man  in  the  world  en- 
trusted with  any  other  gift. 

Now,  prayer  is  one  of  the  supreme  opportunities 
that  God  has  vouchsafed  unto  men  for  the  forward- 
ing of  His  kingdom  among  men.  Prayer  is  a  force. 
Paul  talks  about  "helping  together  by  prayer." 
And  for  using  or  abusing  such  opportunity,  God  will 
hold  every  one  of  us  accountable.  Prayer  has  then, 
first  of  all,  a  direct  reference  to  God  ;  and  when  we 
look  upon  it  like  that,  there  comes  home  to  us  the 
painful  discovery  of  how  much  we  have  doubtless 
lost  by  the  neglect  of  this  opportunity  that  God  has 


124  INTEECESSOEY  PEAYEE 

offered  us.  We  talk  about  latent  powers.  We  talk 
about  the  latent  power  of  steam,  that  wrapped  ap, 
undisclosed,  hidden  power,  of  which  the  world  for 
so  long  a  time  did  not  have  any  just  conception  at 
all,  not  even  when  its  power  began  first  to  be  dis- 
covered and  used.  We  talk  about  the  latent  power 
of  electricity,  that  now  speaks  messages  around  the 
world  in  one  or  two  moments.  How  little  we  knew 
about  that  latent  power  until  just  a  few  years  ago. 
But  the  most  marvelous  latent  power  in  the  world 
is  the  latent  power  of  prayer.  Do  you  doubt  that 
things  all  about  us  would  be  different  if  we  had 
prayed  as  we  ought  ?  Do  you  doubt  that  conditions 
in  Church  and  in  State  would  be  marvelously  changed 
from  what  they  now  are  if  the  sons  of  men  had 
called  upon  God  as  they  ought  ? 

There  are  manifest  reasons  why  men  do  not  realize 
the  power  of  intercessory  prayer.  A  number  of  them 
will  occur  to  us  as  we  think  upon  the  subject.  Men 
do  not  realize  the  responsibility  and  moment  of 
intercessory  prayer,  because  they  do  not  stop  to  think 
that  prayer  is  more  than  a  privilege.  Prayer  is  a 
God-enj oined  duty.  It  is  not  optional  with  us  whether 
or  not  we  shall  pray  for  men.  It  is  a  direct  command 
from  the  Almighty  for  us  to  pray  for  men,  for  all 
men,  without  leaving  one  out  in  all  the  world.  That 
is  a  God-enj  oined  duty,  as  plainly  indicated  in  His 
Scriptures  as  is  any  other  truth  there  indicated.  We 
have  too  much  looked  upon  this  matter  of  praying  as 
a  matter  of  privilege.  To  be  sure,  it  is  a  glorious 
privilege,  an  exalted  privilege,  an  incomparable 
privilege,  this  privilege  of  preferring  our  requests 
before  God.     Oh  !  if  we  had  to  come  home  to  us  the 


INTEECESSOEY  PEAYEE  125 

awful  realization  that  God  would  not  hear  us,  no 
matter  how  we  called  upon  Him,  it  would  paralyze 
us  and  overwhelm  us.  Blessed  and  exalted  above  all 
words  is  the  privilege  of  prayer  ! 

But  prayer  is  a  great  deal  more  than  a  privilege. 
Prayer  is  a  God-given  duty,  and  no  man  is  excused 
from  it,  no  matter  what  his  belief,  or  character,  or 
condition  in  life.  God  asks  all  men  to  pray,  to  prefer 
their  requests  before  Him,  to  come  unto  Him  con- 
tinually, and  tell  Him  out  of  their  hearts,  their  hopes 
and  fears  and  needs  and  desires.  We  have  too  much 
looked  upon  it  simply  as  a  privilege  to  be  used  or 
not,  according  to  our  own  wish. 

And,  again,  we  have  not  realized  as  we  ought  the 
need  and  the  danger  of  men  all  about  us,  for  whom 
we  are  to  pray.  Oh,  if  we  could  have  the  curtains 
that  separate  us  from  eternity  lifted,  so  that  we 
might  have  just  one  glance  at  the  danger  of  men  all 
about  us,  the  one  thing  we  would  do  would  be  to 
betake  ourselves  at  once  to  our  rooms,  and  fall  down 
there  upon  our  faces  before  the  Almighty,  and  en- 
treat His  mercy  and  favor  and  gracious  hand  of  de- 
liverance  in  their  behalf. 

Still  again,  we  do  not  realize  this  matter  as  we 
ought,  because  the  answer  to  our  prayers  is  so  often 
delayed.  Time  and  time  again  different  ones  of  you 
have  come  to  me  and  said:  ^'I  have  asked — God 
witnesseth  the  truth  of  what  I  say — I  have  asked  for 
Him  to  do  this  or  that  or  the  other  thing  for  me,  and 
yet  no  answer  has  come.^'  **Hope  deferred  maketh 
the  heart  sick,'*  and  after  a  while  the  anxious  mother 
droops  in  her  prayers,  wanes  in  her  expectations, 
goes  down  under  the  withering  paralysis  of  distrust 


126  INTEECESSOEY  PEAYEE 

of  God,  and  to  a  large  degree  ceases  to  pray.  And 
so  it  goes  with  the  devoted,  clinging,  patient,  trust- 
ful, Christian  wife,  as  she  beseeches  God  for  the 
strong  man  by  her  side,  that  he  may  be  saved.  Be- 
cause the  answer  is  often  long  delayed,  we  cease  to 
pray  as  we  ought,  leaving  the  whole  matter,  in  some 
stoical,  unbelieving  way,  to  the  arbitrament  of  the 
Almighty,  in  whom  is  infinite  wisdom  and  from 
whom  must  come  every  needed  blessing. 

But  now  for  whom  is  intercessory  prayer  to  be 
offered  ?  Paul,  in  his  first  letter  to  Timothy,  leaves 
us  without  any  sort  of  doubt  about  the  persons  for 
whom  prayer  is  to  be  offered.  You  read  that  epistle 
and  you  will  see  that  he  thus  enjoins  prayer  :  ^^I 
gxhort,  therefore,  that,    first   of  all,    supplications, 

Api'i^yers,  Intercessions  and  giving  of  thanks  be  made 
for  all  men  ;  for  kings,  and  for  all  that  are  in  author- 
ity ;  " — that  is,  *'  in  eminent  place,"  as  the  marginal 
reading  gives  it,  and  the  revised  version,  '■'•  all  that 
are  in  high  place."  Why?  ^' That  we  may  lead  a 
quiet  and  peaceable  life  in  all  godliness  and  honesty. " 
Note  his  exhortation  well :  *^I  exhort  that  supplica- 

\y  tions,  prayers,  and  intercessions  be  made  for  all 
men."  That  is  his  injunction  as  to  our  prayers. 
Look  at  it  a  moment.  He  enjoins  that  we  shall  pray 
for  all  who  are  in  authority,  who  are  in  an  eminent 
place.  Look  at  the  different  classes  that  would  come 
under  that  head.  There  might  be  mentioned,  first 
of  all,  the  rulers  of  state,  men  in  positions  of  gov- 
ernment, men  who  rule,  men  who  make  and  exe- 
cute laws.  For  these  the  mighty  apostle  enjoins 
that  there  shall  be  prayer,  unceasing,  interces- 
sory prayer.     And  it  will  readily  occur  to  us  that 


INTERCESSOEY  PRAYEE  127 

such  praying  is  to  be  offered  in  behalf  of  men  in 
authority,  without  regard  to  their  political  principles 
and  preferment.  God's  people  are  to  pray  for  all 
who  are  in  authority,  however  much  they  may  differ 
from  them  in  politics  or  in  the  principles  to  which 
these  men  subscribe.  We  owe  it  as  a  duty  unto  the 
Almighty  to  pray  unceasingly  for  all  such  men  in 
positions  of  state  about  us.  And  do  you  have  the 
shadow  of  a  doubt  that  law  would  be  better  in  its 
construction  and  better  in  its  enforcement,  if  daily 
the  sous  and  daughters  of  the  Almighty  made  inter- 
cessions for  the  right  construction  and  enforcement 
of  law  by  those  who  sit  in  eminent  position  ?  Be- 
yond a  doubt,  every  man  of  us  must  plead  guilty  to 
the  charge  that  we  do  not  pray  enough  for  men  in 
authority,  for  men  who  make  laws,  and  our  other 
men  who  seek  to  execute  the  laws,  for  men  in  chief 
positions,  where  men  gather  around  them  and  take 
their  cue  of  life  largely  from  these  men  who  are  in- 
vested with  leadership.  Oh,  the  responsibility  of 
such  a  public  man  !  His  position  is  a  position  at- 
tracting the  attention  of  uncounted  hosts  of  men  j 
and  if  he  be  bad,  and  if  he  be  careless  of  influence, 
and  if  he  disregard  his  relations  to  God,  and  if  he  be 
without  concern  for  the  great  principles  of  righteous- 
ness and  truth,  what  a  hurtful  mark  he  will  leave  in 
the  land  in  which  he  lives.  God's  men  and  women 
are  enjoined  in  Holy  Scripture,  directly  and  im- 
pliedly, to  offer  intercessory  prayer  for  men  in 
public  position.  And,  I  repeat,  there  is  not  the 
shadow  of  a  doubt  that  law  would  be  better  con- 
structed and  better  enforced  if  the  lawmakers  and 
axecutives  had  the  unceasing  prayers  of  the  Deople 


128  INTERCESSORY  PRAYER 

in  their  behalf.  It  is  not  simply  a  question  of  privi- 
lege for  us,  O  brethren  ;  it  is  a  question  of  duty,  en- 
joined directly  and  specifically  upon  us  by  the 
Almighty  Himself. 

The  reasons  for  this  are  manifest.  Office  is  de- 
ceptive. Position  is  always  a  thing  of  great  danger. 
Office  is  a  thing  full  many  a  time  so  deceptive  as 
utterly  to  mislead  men.  Men  after  a  while  in  posi- 
tion are  tempted  to  reach  the  place  that  Nebuchad- 
nezzar reached,  when  he  said:  "Is  not  this  great 
Babylon  which  I  have  builded!  "  *'  Which  I  have 
builded. "  The  Almighty  was  utterly  left  out.  And 
so  position  is  ever  a  thing  deceptive  ;  and  for  that 
reason  men  in  public  station,  either  in  Church  or 
State,  need  the  unceasing  intercessions  of  the  people 
of  God.  And  I  repeat  that  the  question  of  politics 
hasn't  anything  in  the  world  to  do  with  our  duty. 
Christ's  Church  knows  nothing  of  political  lines  in 
it.  It  was  uttered  some  time  ago,  very  foolishly,  by 
a  minister  who  should  know  better,  that  he  would 
not  be  the  pastor  of  a  church  if  every  man  in  it  did 
not  vote  a  certain  way.  The  statement  was  extremely 
foolish  and  improper.  No  such  lines  as  that  are  to 
be  drawn  in  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ.  Without 
any  regard  to  a  man's  political  affiliations,  or  prin- 
ciples, or  platform,  God's  people  are  enjoined  to 
offer  prayer,  fervently  and  unceasingly,  that  men 
in  authority  may  be  guided  aright,  that  through  such 
guidance  the  people  may  lead  quiet  and  peaceable 
lives  in  all  godliness  and  honesty. 

Then  there  are  others  besides  civil  officers  that 
are  in  eminent  place.  Oh  !  in  what  eminent  positions 
are  the  ministers  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  how 


INTEECESSOEY  PEAYEE  129 

great  their  need  of  the  constaut  intercessions  of  the 
people  of  God  !  Brethren,  if  the  Apostle  Paul  would 
write  like  this :  **  I  beseech  you,  pray  for  me,^^  how 
much  more  the  ordinary  preacher  needs  to  send  forth 
that  cry  to  the  people.  Paul  said  :  *'  I  beseech  you, 
brethren,  for  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ's  sake,  and  foi 
the  love  of  the  Spirit,  that  ye  strive  together  with  me 
in  your  prayers  to  God  for  me."  If  earth's  greatest 
preacher  would  make  such  a  plea  as  that,  how  much 
more  the  humble,  ordinary,  insignificant  preacher 
needs  to  throw  himself  at  the  feet  of  the  people, 
begging  such  intercessions  from  them  in  his  behalf ! 

Now,  why  is  it  so?  The  temptations  of  Christ's 
preacher  are  manifold  and  grave.  He  is  tempted  all 
along  to  professionalism  ;  and  when  Christ's  preacher 
preaches  merely  to  preach,  then  his  usefulness  is  at 
an  end.  When  Christ's  preacher  fails  to  preach  with 
the  great  throbbing  passion  and  purpose  that  brought 
the  Son  of  God  to  the  earth,  that  He  might  live  and 
die  to  make  expiatory  atonement  for  the  sins  of  a  lost 
world,  his  usefulness  as  a  minister  of  Jesus  Christ  is 
already  at  an  end.  He  is  tempted  to  professionalism 
all  along,  and  professionalism  in  the  ministry  means 
death  to  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel.  He  is  tempted 
to  vanity  by  the  applause  of  the  world.  Whenever 
Christ's  minister  is  lifted  up  with  pride  by  the 
applause  of  men,  already  that  man's  deterioration 
and  decline  have  begun,  and  if  he  follows  on  in  that 
inexcusable  way,  he  shall  sink  to  uselessness  in  the 
kingdom  of  God.  The  reasons  are  many,  dear 
brethren,  why  God's  ministers  are  to  be  constantly 
upborne  by  the  people  in  their  intercessions.  A 
praying  church  makes  a  successful  preacher.     You 


130  INTERCESSOEY  PRATER 

may  take  any  humble  little  preacher,  and  let  him  be 
buttressed  about  by  a  church,  that  day  in  and  day 
out  beseeches  God  to  make  him  valiant  and  skillful 
and  strong  in  the  Lord  and  in  the  power  of  His  might, 
and  he  will  be  a  mighty  preacher,  I  care  not  who  he 
is.  The  world  is  filled  with  examples  demonstrating 
tliat  selfsame  truth.  They  tell  us  that  before  Mr. 
Spurgeon  preached,  every  Sunday  morning  and  even- 
ing, a  half  hour  was  spent  by  his  large  body  of  church 
officers  praying  just  for  the  blessing  of  God  upon  the 
preacher  and  the  people  for  that  service.  He  might 
never  preach  again,  and  the  people  might  never  come 
back  again,  or  some  man  who,  in  the  providence  of 
God,  had  come  to  that  service  might  never  come  back 
again.  And  therefore  they  waited  at  the  throne  of 
grace,  praying  that  the  breath  of  the  Almighty  might 
be  upon  the  preacher's  message,  that  men  might  be 
turned  to  the  Lord  and  be  saved.  And  out  from 
such  holy  atmosphere  the  mighty  preacher  came 
every  time  he  stood  up  in  his  vast  tabernacle  to 
preach  the  word  of  grace  to  the  gathered  thousands. 
A  praying  church  makes  a  mighty  preacher.  And 
you  may  take  any  church  where  they  do  not  pray 
for  the  preacher,  and  the  preacher  there,  no  matter 
who  he  is,  gets  on  poorly.  There  is  an  atmosphere 
in  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  that  atmosphere  is  as 
real  as  is  the  atmosphere  in  this  physical  world 
about  us  ;  and  the  atmosphere  in  which  the  preacher 
of  God  preaches  is  of  untold  moment  in  the  matter 
of  his  preaching  and  usefulness  for  the  lost  world 
unto  whom  he  is  sent  to  preach.  When  John  Living- 
stone stood  up  and  preached  at  Shotts,  in  the  days 
past,  a  great  many  people  were  amazed  at  his  preact- 


INTEBCESSOEY  PEAYEE  131 

ing,  for  under  one  sermon  on  one  occasion  five 
hundred  souls  publicly  acknowledged  Jesus  Christ 
as  their  personal  Saviour.  When  they  looked  into 
the  matter,  they  found  that  the  night  before,  several 
hundred  had  prayed  all  night  that  the  next  morning, 
God's  Spirit  might  so  rest  upon  the  preacher,  that  a 
backslidden  church  and  community  might  find  out 
again  that  God  had  power  upon  earth  to  save  men. 
The  same  story  is  substantially  true  of  Jonathan 
Edwards.  When  that  wonderful  revival  came  to 
Yale  University,  in  a  past  generation,  people 
seemed  unable  to  account  for  such  remarkable  scenes 
in  that  nobly  historic  old  university.  When  they 
looked  into  the  matter,  it  was  found  that  for  weeks 
and  weeks  every  ministerial  student  in  that  school, 
along  with  a  number  of  other  Christian  young  men, 
had  risen  up  before  daylight,  every  morning,  and 
had  gone  to  a  certain  room  in  the  building,  and  had 
poured  out  their  hearts  to  God,  that  old  Yale  might 
be  shaken  with  a  heaven-sent  revival,  and  it  came. 
Can  you  doubt  that  it  came  because  of  this  interces- 
sory prayer?  I  have  been  rereading  recently  the 
story  of  Charles  G.  Finney,  one  of  the  most  eminent 
and  successful  ministers  that  America  has  ever  pro- 
duced. Mr.  Finney^  s  revival  meetings  are  yet  mat- 
ters of  note  throughout  all  the  theological  world. 
He  gives  an  account  of  his  notable  campaigns  for 
religion  in  the  state  of  New  York  :  Great  meetings 
were  held,  when  hundreds  and  thousands  of  strong 
men  accepted  the  Saviour,  in  Utica,  and  in  Bing- 
hampton,  and  in  Syracuse,  and  in  Eochester,  mighty 
meetings,  you  remember,  if  you  have  read  the  story, 
when  hundreds  and  thousands  of  men,  among  them 


132  INTEECESSOEY  PEAYEE 

congressmen  and  judges  and  lawyers  and  eminent 
men  in  every  station,  came  to  Jesus  Christ.  Mr. 
Finney  in  writing  about  it  afterwards  tells  us  that 
there  was  a  thing  going  on  all  the  time  that  he  did 
not  know  anything  about.  It  was  this  :  There  was 
a  plain  man  in  that  state  who  was  a  minister,  but 
who  preached  with  exceeding  poverty  of  speech  and 
power  so  far  as  his  public  speech  was  concerned. 
But  he  prayed :  and  when  Mr.  Finney  came  to  that 
state,  this  plain  man,  Abel  Clary,  betook  himself  to 
prayer,  shut  himself  up  in  his  study  and  gave  himself 
for  weeks,  and  even  for  months,  unceasingly  to 
prayer,  and  in  his  journal,  the  simple  diary  that 
Clary  kept,  were  found  long  afterwards  such  entries 
as  these  :  "I  have  been  strangely  moved  to-day  to 
pray  for  the  salvation  of  Utica,  and  I  have  prayed 
for  a  week  for  Utica."  And  then  again,  ^' I  have 
been  strangely  moved  to-day  to  pray  for  the  salvation 
of  Eochester,  and  I  have  prayed  for  Eochester  for  a 
week."  Nobody  knew  anything  about  it  but  the 
one  man,  but  after  he  was  dead,  Mr.  Finney  saw  the 
simple  diary,  and  at  the  very  times  when  Mr.  Finney 
was  preaching  the  Gospel  publicly  with  such  unex- 
ampled power  in  these  several  New  York  cities,  this 
plain  man  was  on  bended  knee,  interceding  with  God 
to  save  those  same  cities.  Do  you  doubt  that  there 
was  a  vital  connection  between  that  man's  humble 
praying  and  the  marvelous  results  that  attended  Mr. 
Finney's  preaching?  Such  illustrations  might  be 
multiplied  indefinitely. 

Prayer  is  to  be  offered  for  all  men.  How  much 
the  teachers  need  prayer,  both  the  secular  and  the 
religious  teachers.     Do  you  parents  pray  for  the  men 


INTEECESSOEY  PEAYEE  133 

and  the  women  who  teach  your  boys  and  girls  in  the 
public  schools  ?  If  you  are  neglecting  that  you  are 
neglecting  one  of  the  most  delicately  and  eternally 
responsible  matters  in  the  world.  Do  you  parents 
pray  for  the  men  and  the  women  that  teach  your 
children  in  the  Sunday-school  classes?  They  are 
hammering  upon  these  plastic  hearts,  and  as  they 
hammer,  so  shall  be  character  and  destiny  to  an  aw- 
ful degree  with  such  children,  for  time  and  eternity. 
Prayer  unceasing  is  to  be  offered  for  them  all. 

But  Paul  sums  it  all  up  by  asking  that  prayer  be 
made  for  all  men.  You  will  notice  that  by  example 
and  precept  there  were  several  classes  for  whom 
Jesus  urges  us  to  pray.  He  teaches  us  to  pray 
for  the  sick.  That  is  the  reason  we  had  prayer 
this  morning,  and  why  we  have  prayers  at  every 
prayer-meeting,  for  our  beloved  members  who  are 
sick.  A  man  brought  to  Jesus  his  afflicted  boy  and 
said  to  Him:  "I  want  your  help."  And  Jesus 
healed  him.  Then  the  disciples  took  Jesus  aside  and 
said  :  "  We  tried  to  heal  him,  and  why  could  not  we 
do  it  ?  "  And  He  said  :  '"  This  kind  can  come  forth 
by  nothing  but  by  prayer."  And  then  again  the 
Apostle  James  teaches  us  that  God  is  well  pleased 
with  our  prayer  when  we  present  the  sick  unto  Him. 
Of  course,  it  must  be  ever  understood  when  we  present 
our  loved  ones  in  their  distress  unto  God  that  we  are 
to  submit  to  the  will  of  God,  whatever  that  may  be. 

Then  there  was  this  other  class  for  which  Jesus 
prayed,  and  for  which  we  are  to  pray,  and  that  was 
the  children.  You  remember  the  account  given  in 
the  nineteenth  chapter  of  Matthew,  where  the 
mothers  brought  their  children  unto  Jesus  that  He 


134  INTERCESSOEY  PEAYER 

might  lay  His  hands  upon  them  and  pray.  Wouldn't 
you  have  rejoiced  to  have  heard  one  of  those  prayers 
Jesus  made  for  that  little  girl  or  that  little  boy  that 
the  mother  brought  to  Him  ?  Do  you  suppose  He 
said  :  "  Father,  make  this  child  to  be  rich  in  this 
world' s  goods ' '  ?  Do  you  suppose  He  said  :  ^ '  Father, 
let  this  child  be  lifted  up  until  his  name  shall  fill  the 
earth"?  You  do  not  suppose  that.  ''Father,  let 
this  child  be  heavenly  minded  ;  let  this  child  love 
Jesus  Christ ;  let  this  child  give  its  life  to  the  noblest 
and  the  sublimest  things."  Don't  you  know  in  your 
soul  that  He  prayed  like  that  ?  Surely,  surely,  we 
are  to  pray  for  our  children.  As  the  child  goes,  so 
shall  go  the  world,  and  therefore  prayer  unceasing  is 
to  be  made  for  these  dear  young  lives,  unable  yet  to 
apprehend  the  deep  responsibilities  of  human  life. 

Again,  Jesus  teaches  us  that  we  are  to  pray  for  all 
His  people  everywhere  ;  not  merely  for  a  particular 
church,  not  merely  for  a  particular  denomination, 
but  we  are  to  pray  for  the  true  Israel  of  God  every- 
where, in  all  this  earth.  "  Pray  one  for  another  "  is 
the  voice  of  Jesus  to  His  people  in  every  age  and  in 
every  land. 

And,  still  again.  He  teaches  us  that  there  is  an- 
other class  to  pray  for,  and  I  want  you  to  see  it  as  a 
positive  command  :  ' '  Pray  for  them  which  despite- 
fuUy  use  you  and  persecute  you."  There  is  His 
specific,  direct  command.  That  is  a  command  that 
may  not  be  avoided  ;  that  may  not  be  disputed  ;  that 
may  not  be  disregarded.  We  are  to  pray  for  the  men 
who  despitefully  use  us  and  persecute  us.  And  right 
there  is  the  heroic  place  in  Christianity.  An  un- 
saved man  cannot  do  it.    An  unsaved  man  cannol 


INTEECESSOEY  PEAYEE  135 

from  his  heart  crave  the  favor  of  God  upon  his  per- 
secuting enemies.  God's  man  can  do  it,  by  the  grace 
of  God.  And  not  only  can  he,  but  he  is  enjoined  by 
the  Almighty  to  do  that  specific  thing.  O  brethren, 
will  we  never  learn  that  the  gospel  of  hate  is  the 
gospel  of  destruction  ?  Will  we  never  learn  that  for 
a  man  to  hate  is  for  him  to  pursue  a  pathway  of  folly, 
the  end  of  which  is  filled  with  the  most  lamentable 
consequences?  Will  we  never  learn  that  hate  in- 
capacitates a  man  for  the  noblest  and  truest  living  ? 
Will  we  never  learn  that  to  hate  fills  the  heart  with 
rancorous,  unholy  impulses,  which  unfit  us  to  an  aw- 
ful degree  for  the  solemn  work  of  human  life? 
^'  Pray  for  them  which  despitefuUy  use  you  and  per- 
secute you. "  I  hope  you  know  the  sweetness  of  that 
same  experience.  I  hope  you  know  what  it  is  when 
you  have  been  maltreated  by  some  one  to  go  alone 
with  God,  and  to  commend  that  one  to  His  mercy, 
and  to  beseech  the  Almighty  that  good  and  not  evil 
may  come  upon  the  head  of  that  one.  If  you  have 
learned  that,  you  have  learned  one  of  the  deepest, 
sweetest,  holiest  experiences  that  the  human  heart 
can  ever  know. 

I  am  speaking  too  long  upon  this  vital  theme,  and 
I  must  close.  We  talk  a  great  deal  about  **  un- 
answered prayers."  Let  us  then  rather  think  about 
our  unoffered  prayers.  Your  boy  might  have  been 
saved  if  you  had  prayed  as  you  ought.  I  declare  it 
upon  the  authority  of  God's  book.  Your  husband 
might  have  been  saved  if  you  had  prayed  as  you 
ought,  and  lived  rightly  along  with  the  praying.  I  de- 
clare it  upon  the  authority  of  that  same  book.  Some 
man  for  whose  soul  you  yearn  might  long  ago  have 


136  INTEECESSOEY  PEAYEE 

stood  up  in  the  presence  of  the  people  of  God,  say 
ing  :  ^^  Your  God  is  mine,  your  hope  mine,"  if  you 
and  I  and  all  of  us  had  prayed  for  that  man  as  we 
ought.  One  of  the  deepest  regrets  of  my  life,  I  con- 
fess it  to  you  to-day,  is  that  I  have  prayed  so  little 
for  lost  sinners,  compared  with  what  I  ought  to  have 
prayed.  O  my  people,  our  children,  our  loved  ones, 
to  an  awful  degree  are  dependent  upon  our  prayers. 
And  there  are  lost  men,  rulers  of  state,  business  men, 
laborers  and  capitalists,  the  rich  and  the  poor,  the 
old  and  the  young,  all  about  us,  God  forbid  that  we 
should  so  sin  against  the  Lord  as  to  cease  praying  for 
them  !  Let  us  pray  for  them  here  and  now  with  all 
our  hearts !    The  Lord  help  us  and  hear  us  ! 


vin 

The  Growth  of  Faith 

Text:  *'And  there  was  a  certain  nobleman, 
whose  son  was  sick  at  Capernaum. " — John  iv.  46. 

AEE  there  those  here  to-night  who  wish  to  be 
Christians?  Doesn't  that  dear  boy  over 
there  wish  to  be  a  Christian,  and  that  older 
one,  turning  into  young  manhood,  and  the  young 
man  himself  there,  and  that  young  woman — don't 
you  wish  to  be  Christians?  Then,  listen,  will  you 
not,  to  the  simple  exposition  of  the  Scripture  that 
has  just  been  read  ? 

It  is  good  for  us  to  see  the  matter  illustrated  of 
how  one  comes  to  Christ  and  secures  His  blessing. 
It  is  good  to  note  how  faith  is  illustrated,  as  it  is 
again  and  again  in  the  Scriptures.  It  is  illustrated 
here  in  the  case  of  this  nobleman,  who  came  to  Jesus 
with  a  great  burden,  and  made  to  Him  a  great  re- 
quest,  and  received  from  Him  a  great  blessing.  Let 
us  look  back  a  moment  to  the  circumstances  that  led 
up  to  this  nobleman's  visit  and  appeal  to  Jesus. 

The  nobleman  was  in  trouble.  He  was  a  noble- 
man, mark  you,  of  some  position  and  prominence, 
and  yet  that  did  not  save  him  from  knowing  what  it 
was  to  be  in  trouble.  That  old  Spanish  proverb  is 
true  which  says:  ^^ There  is  no  home  without  its 
hush."    The  proverb  itself  carries  with  it  its  own 

13? 


138  THE  GEOWTH  OF  FAITH 

plain  meaning.  **  There  is  no  home  without  its 
hush."  Every  home,  however  high  it  may  be,  and 
prominent  and  wealthy,  or  if  it  be  low  and  humble 
and  obscure,  every  home  has  about  it  something 
that,  sooner  or  later,  brings  to  it  a  hush.  It  is  so 
with  every  home  represented  here  to-night.  Man  is 
prone  to  have  trouble  in  this  world,  and  if  we  have 
missed  it  thus  far,  the  day  comes  on  apace  when  our 
hearts  shall  be  wrung  to  their  depths,  perhaps,  with 
some  great  sorrow.  Let  us  not  imagine  that  there  is 
any  class,  or  any  family,  that  will  escape  trouble 
sooner  or  later.  It  will,  sooner  or  later,  find  its  way 
into  the  palaco  or  castle,  as  well  as  the  ho\  el  of  the 
very  poor.  *^  Man  is  born  unto  trouble,  as  the 
sparks  fly  upward." 

This  nobleman's  trouble  was  about  his  child.  His 
child  was  nov*  sick,  near  to  the  point  of  death,  and 
the  man's  heart  was  stirred  with  grievous  concerp, 
for  his  child.  This  is  always  a  most  tender  sight,  to 
see  a  parent's  watchfulness  for  his  child,  to  see  a 
parent's  concern  for  his  child,  a  parent's  love  for  his 
child.  Out  of  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures,  is  there 
anything  more  heart- wringing  than  David's  lament 
for  his  son  Absalom,  that  poor,  wretched  fellow,  who 
was  so  little  of  a  man,  who  was  so  much  of  a  scape- 
grace— that  son  who  brought  such  distress  upon  his 
father?  Yet  when  tlie  worst  came,  and  the  lad's  life 
was  ended,  the  old  man  with  unutterable  grief  wrung 
his  hands  and  cried:  '^O  my  son  Absalom,  my  son, 
my  son  Absalom  !  Would  God  I  had  died  for  thee, 
O  Absalom,  my  son,  my  son  !  "  It  is  the  picture  of 
a  true  parent's  love  for  his  child,  however  wicked 
and  worthless  the  child.     Oh,  if  this  parental  anx- 


THE  GROWTH  OF  FAITH  139 

iety  could  always  be  cairied  deeper  than  mere  ma- 
terial things!  If  parents  who  would  die  for  their 
children,  who  would  take  out  of  their  mouths  the 
last  bite  of  food  to  give  to  their  children,  if  these 
parents  would  just  go  deeper  than  that,  and  look 
after  their  children  in  their  supreme  needs,  how 
blessed  it  would  be.  If  parents  would  put  them- 
selves out  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  their  children, 
so  directing  their  lives,  so  ordering  their  own  ex- 
amples as  parents !  If  parents  would  do  that,  then 
how  many  the  heartaches  from  which  they  would  be 
delivered,  and  how  many  the  disasters  they  would 
miss!  When  children  in  a  home  are  worldly  and 
careless  and  godless,  back  of  it  all  there  is  a  fearful 
cause. 

It  is  good  when  trouble  leads  a  man  to  God  instead 
Of  away  from  God.  It  will  always  do  one  of  these 
two  things.  This  man's  trouble  brought  him  to  God. 
Friend,  are  you  in  trouble  1  Come  with  it  to  God. 
In  this  man's  coming  to  Christ  there  is  an  illus- 
tration of  the  growth  of  faith  from  the  lowest  to  the 
highest  degree.  Note  the  several  degrees  of  faith. 
First  of  all,  this  man  sought  Jesus'  help.  That  is 
the  very  first  step  in  one's  coming  to  Christ.  I 
mean,  of  course,  from  the  human  side.  This  man 
sought  Jesus'  help.  He  was  yonder,  a  day's  journey 
away  from  where  Jesus  was,  and  when  he  heard  that 
Jesus  had  come  back  to  a  certain  familiar  locality, 
the  man  hastened  from  his  house  and  from  his  sick 
child,  and  with  all  speed  came  a  day's  journey  to 
lay  before  Jesus,  face  to  face,  the  case  of  his  boy. 
He  sought  Jesus.  That  is  the  first  great  step,  then, 
»■  coming  to  Jesus.     '*  If  thou  seek  Him,  He  will  b© 


140  THE  GEOWTH  OF  FAITH 

found  of  thee.'^  **Seek  ye  the  Lord  while  He  may 
be  found."  ^'  In  the  day  that  thou  seekest  Me  with 
thy  whole  heart,  I  will  be  found  of  thee."  ^'They 
that  seek  Me  early  shall  find  Me."  ^' Ye  shall  seek 
Me  and  find  Me,  when  ye  shall  search  for  Me  with 
all  your  heart. "  So  the  very  first  step  in  our  coming 
to  Christ  for  salvation  is  that  we  seek  Him — that  we 
earnestly  put  ourselves  into  the  great  business  of 
finding  Him.  This  man  sought  Jesus.  He  used  the 
means  to  come  into  contact  with  Him.  He  came  to 
where  Jesus  was.  He  poured  out  his  heart  to  Jesus, 
which  is  but  another  name  for  praying  ;  for  when  we 
talk  to  Jesus,  and  tell  Him  of  our  needs  and  of  our 
wishes,  then  it  is  that  we  are  praying.  This  man 
did  all  that,  but  there  was  a  weakness  in  it.  What 
was  it?  Jesus  saw  the  weakness  and  exposed  it  to 
the  man.  The  man  said,  ' '  Sir,  come  down  ere  my 
child  die.' ^  That  was  the  weakness.  The  man  was 
telling  Jesus  how  He  must  do,  in  order  for  the  child 
to  live.  ''Come  down,'^  he  said.  "Come  and  go 
with  me ;  go  where  you  can  see  the  boy,  where  you 
can  talk  to  him,  where  he  can  talk  to  you  ;  come 
down  ere  my  child  die.''  Do  you  not  see  the  funda- 
mental mistake  in  that  man's  appeal?  See  what 
Jesus  said  to  him  :  "  Nobleman,  except  ye  see  signs 
and  wonders,  ye  will  not  believe."  That  is  to  say, 
"Aren't  you  demanding  signs  and  wonders  before 
you  will  put  the  boy's  case  into  My  hands  at  all?" 
Just  here  is  the  vital  mistake  made  by  the  seeker 
after  God.  As  long  as  the  soul  dictates  to  Jesus 
how  He  shall  bless,  it  shall  not  get  His  blessing.  As 
long  as  the  sov'  states  terms  to  Jesus,  it  shall  have 
no  favor  of  Kim,  no  forgiving  love.     So  Jesus  put 


THE  GROWTH  OF  FAITH  141 

this  mau  to  the  test,  and  said  in  effect :  **  Aren^t  you 
demanding  that  I  shall  work  signs,  that  I  shall  do 
wonders  for  you,  before  you  will  commit  your  boy 
to  Me  at  all  ?  "  The  man  saw  the  vital  point,  and 
relinquished  his  boy  without  reservation  or  dictation 
into  Jesus'  hands.  O  sinner,  listen  to  this  simple 
statement :  Since  Jesus  does  the  saving,  does  all  of 
it,  won't  5^ou  let  Him  save  you  His  way?  You  will 
never  be  saved  any  other  way.  You  will  never  be 
saved  at  all,  be  sure  of  it,  until  you  just  let  Jesus 
save  you  His  own  wdy.  Now  to-night  He  would 
save  you.  He  wishes  to  save  you  now.  There  is  no 
doubt  about  that.  To-  day  is  the  accepted  time  al- 
ways with  Him,  and  never  to-morrow.  Now,  to- 
night, in  this  place,  there  are  some  who  are  not 
saved.  Do  you  wish  to  be  ?  Won't  you  now  say, 
**Lord,  Jesus,  I  will  not  say  that  Thou  must  bless 
me  this  way  or  that  way,  or  some  other  way.  I 
simply  ask  that  Thou  wilt  bless  in  Thine  own  Divine 
way,  and  I  do  make  absolute  surrender  of  my  case 
now  and  forever  to  Thee."  W^on't  you  thus  yield 
yourselves  to  Christ?  If  you  will,  you  shall  be 
saved  here  to-night.  O  Spirit  of  God,  wilt  Thou  not 
draw  these  lost  ones  thus  to  trust  themselves  to 
Christ? 

And  now  here  appears  the  second  degree  or  mani- 
festation of  the  nobleman's  faith.  What  was  it? 
When  the  nobleman  relinquished  the  boy  into  Jesus' 
hands,  Jesus  said  to  him  :  ''Go  thy  way;  thy  son 
liveth."  And  the  Scriptures  go  further  and  say  : 
*'And  the  man  believed  the  word  that  Jesus  had 
spoken  unto  him,  and  he  went  on  his  way."  Eight 
there  is  the  seeking  sinner  saved.     ''The  man  be- 


142  THE  GEOWTH  OF  FAITH 

lieved  the  word  that  Jesus  had  spoken  unto  him. '' 
The  man  really  took  Jesus  at  His  word.  Eight 
there  the  seeking  sinner  is  saved.  The  sinu(ir  may 
weep ;  the  sinner  may  pray  ;  the  sinner  may  be 
filled  with  great  grief ;  the  sinner's  heart  may  be 
sorely  wrenched  and  disturbed  ;  the  sinner  may  be 
cast  down  and  filled  with  gloom  unutterable,  and 
yet  go  down,  and  deeper  down  and  be  forever  lost, 
unless  he  takes  Jesus  at  His  word,  and  closes  in 
with  Him.  When  Jesus  says:  "Him  that  cometh 
to  Me,  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out,'^  the  seeking  sinner 
is  to  answer  back  and  say  :  * '  Lord,  I  will  come  ;  I 
will  surrender  to  Thee  ;  I  will  take  Thee  to  be  my 
Saviour  ;  though  I  do  not  understand  it,  yet  it  is 
enough  for  me  that  Thou  dost  invite  me.  Gladly 
therefore  do  I  yield  ;  I  surrender  forever  to  Thee. 
I  take  Thee  at  Thy  word ;  living  or  dying,  I  give 
my  all  to  Thee.'^     Eight  there  the  sinner  is  saved. 

O  lost  one,  now  listening  so  earnestly  to  what  I  am 
saying,  if  Jesus  were  here  to-night,  and  He  should 
say  :  "  Will  you  trust  your  soul  to  Me  ;  if  you  will, 
I  will  save  you?"  what  would  be  your  answer? 
He  will  not  force  you.  He  will  not  bind  you  hand 
and  foot  and  tie  you  and  drag  you  in.  Christ  does 
not  save  that  way.  Christ  sends  His  Word  and  His 
Spirit  to  show  you  your  need,  to  show  you  your 
duty,  to  show  you  your  danger,  to  convince  your 
mind  and  awaken  your  heart.  He  thus  sets  before 
you  life  and  death.  He  says:  "The  soul  that  will 
surrender  utt-erly  to  Jesus  shall  have  life."'  He  also 
says  :  "The  soul  that  keeps  away  fiom  Jesus,  and 
refuses  to  rely  upon  Jesus,  must  go  down,  forever 
i^own,  unto  spiritual  death."    Now  when  the  souJ 


THE  GEOWTH  OF  FAITH  143 

just  closf'S  in  with  Christ,  and  says:  ^'I  will  take 
Him  at  His  word/'  such  soul  is  saved.  His  word 
is:  "Commit  thy  way  unto  the  Lord;  trust  also  in 
Him,  and  He  shall  bring  it  to  pass."  "Then  I  will 
commit  my  way  to  Thee,  just  as  Thou  hast  said.  I 
close  in  with  Thee,  Lord  Jesus,  just  as  Thou  hast 
bidden  me  do,  receiving  Thee  to  be  my  Saviour. " 
Whenever  the  soul  does  that,  Christ  saves  such  soul. 
Do  you  see  the  nobleman  going  yonder!  He  is 
singing.  Ten  minutes  ago  his  face  was  covered 
with  the  lines  of  anxious  sorrow.  Now  he  is  sing- 
ing. Listen  how  he  sings,  how  cheerily  he  sings. 
Let  us  stop  him  and  talk  with  him :  ' '  Nobleman, 
why  that  joyous  singing?"  "My  boy  is  better." 
"When  did  you  hear  from  him  ?  "  "Yesterday;  I 
left  home  yesterday."  "How  was  he  when  you 
left?"  "He  was  at  the  point  of  death."  "And 
is  that  the  last  time  you  have  heard!  "  "  Yes,  yes, 
it  is  the  last  time  I  have  heard."  "Ten  minutes 
ago,  Mr.  Nobleman,  your  face  was  covered  with  dis- 
tress and  sorrow.  Now  it  is  all  gone.  Why  this 
change!"  "Because  I  put  my  boy's  case  into  the 
hands  of  Jesus,  and  He  said  that  He  would  heal  him, 
and  I  have  taken  Him  at  His  word."  "  Is  that  all. 
Nobleman  !  "  "  That  is  all. "  '  ^  Do  you  mean  to  say 
that  what  He  said  is  the  occasion  for  your  joy!" 
"That  is  just  it.''  "Do  you  mean  to  say  that  the 
reason  why  you  are  now  happy  is  what  Jesus  said  to 
you!"  "Yes,  I  mean  that ;  He  has  said  that  my 
boy  is  to  live  and  I  take  Him  at  His  word ;  He  has 
said  it,  and  I  am  going  back  rejoicing  ;  He  has  said 
it,  and  I  expect  to  find  it  just  like  He  said  it ;  He 
has  said  it,  and  He  will  keep  His  word  ;  that  is  th? 


144  THE  GROWTH  OF  FAITH 

reason  for  all  my  joy.''  Right  there  the  soul  is 
saved.  O  sinner,  close  in  with  Jesus,  take  Him  now 
at  His  word. 

For  the  soul  just  to  take  Jesus  at  His  word  is  the 
simplest  thing  in  the  world,  if  only  the  soul  may  see 
it.  I  said  to  a  young  man  in  the  congregation  last 
night,  who  tarried  after  the  service,  and  who  was 
deeply  distressed  about  his  soul :  ^'  What  would  you 
do  if  Jesus  Christ  stood  here  by  your  side,  in  i)erson, 
so  that  you  could  see  Him,  and  touch  Him  and  talk 
to  Him  face  to  face  ?  And  if  He  made  to  you  the 
distinct  proposal :  '  Young  man,  with  all  your  sins, 
and  fears,  and  doubts,  and  difficulties,  mentally, 
morally,  and  of  every  other  character,  if  with  them 
all  you  will  make  the  surrender  of  yourself  utterly 
and  forever  to  Me,  I  will  save  and  keep  you,'  what 
would  be  your  answer?"  In  the  twinkling  of  an 
eye  he  said  :  ^'  Why,  I  would  do  it."  Then  I  sought 
to  show  him  from  the  Word  of  God  that  the  way  of 
life  is  that  simple.  God  comes  to  the  sinner  and 
says :  * '  Sinner,  give  Me  your  heart. "  The  sinner 
answers:  *'It  is  a  bad  heart."  ''Yes,  I  will  make 
it  good."  ''  It  is  a  sinful  heart.  Lord."  "  Yes,  that 
is  the  reason  I  call  for  you ;  it  needs  to  be  saved  ; 
it  needs  to  be  made  anew  "  '•  Well,  Lord,  I  cannot 
understand  it."  "I  did  not  say  that;  I  said,  trust 
it  to  Me."  "  Well,  Lord,  I  have  this  serious  trouble 
and  that."  And  He  answers:  '^Come  along  with 
all  your  troubles,  and  I  will  manage  every  one  of 
them  for  you  ;  I  will  save  you  unto  the  uttermost ; 
I  know  all  about  your  every  difficulty,  and  every  sin 
and  every  fear  ;  I  came  on  purpose  to  save  sinners. 
Will  you  trust  Me,  that  I  may  save  you?    If  ever 


THE  GKOWTH  OF  FAITH  145 

you  are  saved,  I  must  save  you."  The  soul  that 
sincerely  answers  :  '^  Lord,  I  close  in  with  Thee,  re- 
ceiving Thee  to  be  mine  and  giving  myself  to  be 
Thine  forever,"  right  there  such  soul  is  saved. 

May  I  take  a  leaf  out  of  my  own  little  life,  as  I 
sought  the  Saviour?  I  went  for  years  seekirg  the 
Saviour.  I  do  not  believe  there  was  a  day  in  all  those 
years,  from  my  boyhood  up  to  young  manhood,  I  do 
not  believe  there  was  a  day  that  I  was  not  more  or 
less  seeking  the  Saviour.  But  what  misconceptions  I 
had  about  the  way  to  be  saved  !  I  believe  now,  as  I 
study  the  Scriptures,  and  study  Christian  experience, 
and  study  my  own  experience,  it  seems  to  me  now 
that  if  any  man  at  any  time  during  those  several 
years  had  come  to  me  and  had  shown  me  just  this : 
*^  If  you  are  ready  here  and  right  now  to  give  your- 
self, your  all,  to  Jesus  Christ  to  be  His  forever,  re- 
ceiving Him  to  be  yours, "  it  seems  to  me  now  that  if 
any  man  had  put  it  that  way  to  me,  I  would  have 
decided  for  Christ  in  one  moment.  I  believe  it 
would  have  been  closed  with  me,  determined  by  me 
in  a  moment.  This  matter  of  the  soul's  salvation  is  a 
matter  of  direct  dealing  with  the  personal  Christ. 
He  says:  ^'What  wilt  thou  that  I  should  do  unto 
thee?'' 

Now,  what  is  Christ's  Word?  Here  is  one  of  His 
sayings  :  ^'  Him  that  cometh  to  Me  I  will  in  no  wise 
cast  out."  That  includes  you,  my  child.  ^'Him 
that  cometh  to  Me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out."  That 
includes  you,  my  young  man.  Why,  do  you  think 
this  good  and  all-merciful  Saviour  would  push  you 
away  to-night  if  you  said  from  your  heart :  "  Lord, 
I  will  give  up  to  Thee,"  do  you  think  He  would  re 


U-3  THE  GEOWTH  OF  FAITH 

ject  you  ?  Why,  the  one  great  thing  that  He  is  3on 
cerned  about  is  that  sinners  may  come  to  Him.  He 
calls  men  to  preach,  that  they  may  tell  of  His  mercy 
to  those  who  need  to  be  saved.  He  has  His  churches 
in  the  world  for  the  same  great  purpose.  He  sends 
His  Spirit  to  impress  the  lost,  and  to  move  upon 
Christian  hearts  to  pray  for  the  lost.  All  these 
gracious  agencies  are  to  bring  you  to  say  "  yes  '^  to 
Jesus,  to  persuade  you  to  give  up  to  Jesus,  just  to 
surrender  yourself  forever  to  Jesus.  Won't  you  do 
it  ?  He  receives  you,  and  saves  you,  with  His  own 
great  salvation.  Just  take  Him  at  His  word.  You 
never  can  save  yourself,  never,  forever.  If  you  went 
around  this  world  on  your  knees,  leaving  blood  prints 
every  time  you  moved,  that  would  not  save  you. 
Christ  must  save,  and  Christ  alone. 

**  In  my  hand  no  price  I  bring, 
Simply  to  Thy  cross  I  cling." 

You  are  j  ust  to  receive  Christ,  to  save  you  in  His 
own  way.  Are  you  ready  thus  to  receive  Him  to- 
night? Will  you  now  thus  receive  Him?  If  so, 
you  will  go  home  to-night  one  of  the  Lord's  believ- 
ing children.     Will  you  do  this  to-night  ? 

*'  But  why,  O  preacher,  do  this  to-night  ?  "  I  hear 
your  heart  ask  such  question.  I  answer,  for  every 
good  reason  do  this  to-night,  and  for  no  reason  think- 
able should  you  delay  it  till  to-morrow.  To-morrow 
is  not  yours.  To-morrow  may  not  be  yours  at  all. 
It  is  forbidden  you  to  put  this  matter  off  till  to- 
morrow. **  Boast  not  thyself  of  to-morrow,  for  thou 
knowest  not  what  a  day  may  bring  forth."  "To- 
day, if  you  hear  His  voice,  harden  not  your  hearc  ' 


THE  GROWTH  OF  FAITH  147 

You  are  not  even  to  think  of  to-morrow.  Christ's 
time  is  to-day.  Christ's  call  is  to-day.  Your  need  is 
to-day.  Your  duty  is  to-day.  Your  danger  is  to- 
day. Christ  says  :  "Close  in  with  Me  to-day."  Do 
you  say:  "Yes,  I  will ;  I  do  to-night."  You  will, 
then,  to-night  be  saved.  O  God,  bring  the  lost  ones 
to  Thyself  just  now  ! 

There  is  yet  another  manifestation  of  faith  in  this 
nobleman's  case.  When  he  went  on  down  the  way 
that  led  him  home,  the  servants  met  him  before  he 
reached  home,  and  they  began  their  glad  story  : 
"Master,  the  boy  is  well."  He  said  :  "When  did 
tht  change  come  ?  "  And  they  said  :  "Yesterday,  at 
the  seventh  hour,  the  fever  left  him."  "So  the 
father  knew  that  it  was  at  the  same  hour  in  the  which 
Jesus  said  unto  him,  *  Thy  son  liveth  ; '  and  himself 
believed,  and  his  whole  house."  That  is  the  last 
stage  of  faith.  That  is  assurance.  He  came  and  he 
saw.  There  was  the  lad  back  from  the  gates  of 
death,  sound  and  well.  That  was  a  happy  home, 
you  may  be  sure.  You  may  be  sure  that  father  told 
them  over  and  over  again  what  Jesus  said,  and  how 
He  looked,  and  everything  that  pertained  to  the  vast 
matter.  What  joy  they  must  have  had  as  they 
talked  about  Him !  And  they  all  believed,  and 
doubtless  said :  "He  shall  have  our  trust,  our  serv- 
ice, and  our  love,  all  the  days  of  our  life.  We  know 
that  He  is  God,  even  our  God  forever.  '^  That  is  the 
last  stage  of  faith. 

The  trouble  with  sinners  is  that  they  wish  this  last 
part  liist  They  wish  assniance  first.  They  feel 
and  iE  their  hearts  say  that  if  Christ  would  give 
them  to  fee^  thi;  or  that,  if  He  would  fill  their  hearts 


148  THE  GEOWTH  OF  FAITH 

with  peace  and  joy,  they  would  then  trust  Him. 
Trust  Him  without  any  such  dictation.  You  must 
put  your  case  into  Christ's  hands  and  leave  it  there. 
Yours  it  is  to  give  up  to  Jesus.  Yours  it  is  to  de- 
cide for  Jesus.  Yours  it  is  to  choose  Jesus.  Yours 
it  is  to  say  :  '-  Lord  Jesus,  I  don't  ask  Thee  to  wait 
on  me  another  hour  ;  some  time  and  somewhere  I 
have  meant  to  settle  this  question  :  I  won't  ask  for 
more  time  ;  I  will  settle  it  to-night ;  I  will  take  Thee 
at  Thy  Word ;  I  surrender  now,  and  forever,  to 
Thee."  If  you  will  do  that  to-night,  you  shall  be 
saved  to-night. 

O  soul,  wrong  with  God,  take  this  great  step 
to-night.  Take  it  before  we  go  from  this  service. 
What  is  the  essence  of  faith  ?  The  very  essence  of 
faith  is  that  the  c^oul  will  willingly  give  up  to  the 
will  of  Christ.  You  are  already  in  Christ's  hands, 
O  sinner.  You  are  as  much  in  His  hands  as  is  the 
Christian.  What  is  the  difference,  then?  The 
Christian  is  in  His  hands  willingly.  ''Have  Thy 
way  with  me,  take  the  reins  of  my  life  and  govern  me 
ever  as  Thou  wishest. "  That  is  the  spirit  of  a  Chris- 
tian. Say  to-night,  O  lost  one,  ''Lord,  Thy  way 
shall  be  mine.  Thy  will  shall  be  mine  ;  I  give  up  to 
Thee  to-night,  a  poor,  needy  sinner  ;  I  wish  to  be  a 
Christian  ;  Thou  must  make  me  one,  and  Thou  hast 
said  if  I  would  come  to  Thee  that  Thou  wouldst  not 
cast  me  out ;  I  come  now."  Won't  you  do  this  now  1 
In  this  last  moment,  for  in  a  moment  we  must  go ; 
won't  you  close  in  with  Jesus  now  ?  Think  about 
going  out  to-night  with  your  heart  against  Him  ! 
Oh,  the  wrong  and  the  peril  of  it  all,  waiting  until 
some  other  time  !    Won't  you  to-night  close  in  with 


THE  GEOWTH  OF  FAITH  149 

Jesus,  and  to-night  say  '*yes  "  to  Him,  and  to-night 
give  up  to  Him  forever  ?  You  remember  the  story 
of  the  magistrate,  Archias,  of  the  city  of  Thebes. 
He  was  going  out  one  night  to  a  place  of  feasting  and 
revelry,  and  one  of  his  faithful  servants  intercepted 
him  on  his  way,  and  slipped  into  his  hand  a  note. 
Archias  said:  ^' What  is  it  about?"  And  the 
servant  said  :  ' '  About  a  very  serious  matter,  O 
prince  j  be  sure  to  read  it  before  you  go  to  that  place." 
And  the  prince  thrust  it  down  into  his  pocket,  un- 
read, muttering:  "Serious  matters  later,  but  none 
to-night  for  me!"  And  he  went,  unheeding,  on, 
and  serious  matters  did  come  later.  The  letter  was 
a  disclosure  of  a  plot  that  the  servant  had  discovered 
that  enemies  had  hiid  to  take  that  prince's  life  that 
night,  and  the  faithful  servant  had  thus  warned  him 
to  stay  away  from  that  place  of  conspiracy  and  prob- 
able death.  But  the  prince  did  not  heed  the  mes- 
sage :  did  not  even  read  it,  and  came  to  most  serious 
issues,  even  to  death,  that  night,  from  that  delay. 

O  soul,  do  you  wish  to  be  a  Christian  ?  Do  you, 
my  boy  over  there,  and  you,  my  young  man  over 
there,  whose  heart  has  been  touched  again  and  again 
with  the  call  of  the  Gospel  ?  Do  you  wish  to  be  a 
Christian?  Do  you  wish  to  be  to-night?  Listen 
once  more :  "Him  that  cometh  to  Me,  I  will  in  no 
wise  cast  out,"  Come  now  to  Him,  yield  yourself  to 
Him,  receive  Him  to  be  your  personal  Saviour,  and 
you  shall  go  out  of  this  house  saved.  We  are  going 
to  pray  that  you  may  settle  it  right  now.  Let  every 
head  be  bowed,  and  for  a  few  moments  let  us  pray 
in  silence.     Lord,  teach  us  how  to  pray  ! 


IX 

Christ's  Message  to  the  Weak 

Text ;  "  A  bruised  reed  shall  He  not  break,  and 
smoking  flax  shall  He  not  quench,  till  He  send 
forth  judgment  unto  victory.  "—Matthew  xii.  20. 

THE  context  was  read  a  few  moments  ago 
that  you  might  see  how  this  strange  language 
came  to  be  used.  Jesus  went  on  the  Sab- 
bath day,  with  His  disciples,  through  the  corn-field, 
and,  being  an  hungered,  they  began  to  pluck  the  ears 
of  corn  and  to  eat.  This  called  forth  the  very  cen- 
sorious criticism  of  the  Pharisees,  who  all  through 
the  Saviour's  public  ministry  sought  to  find  fault 
with  what  He  said  and  did.  He  called  to  their  re- 
membrance that  incident  of  the  olden  times  when 
David  went  into  the  house  of  God  and  did  eat  the 
shewbread,  which  was  not  lawful  for  him  to  eat,  nor 
for  them  who  were  with  him,  but  lawful  only  for  the 
priests  to  eat,  and  David  was  justified  in  doing  it. 
And  then  Jesus  announced  that  the  Son  of  Man  was 
Lord  even  of  the  Sabbath  day.  And  next,  Jesus 
went  into  their  temple,  where  there  was  a  man  with 
a  withered  hand,  and  these  same  carping  Pharisees 
asked  Him  if  it  was  right  to  heal  on  the  Sabbath  day, 
that  they  might  accuse  Him.  He  answered  them  by 
asking  this  question  :  "If  one  of  you  shall  have  a 
sheep,  and  if  it  shall  fall  into  a  pit  on  the  Sabbath 

150 


CHRIST'S  MESSAGE  TO  THE  WEAK    151 

day,  will  you  wait  until  the  next  day  to  get  it  out  1 
How  much  then  is  a  man  better  than  a  sheep  1 
Wherefore,  I  say  unto  you,  it  is  lawful  to  do  well  on 
the  Sabbath  day. "  Then  He  said  to  the  man : 
''Stretch  forth  thine  hand."  And  he  stretched  it 
forth  and  it  was  made  whole,  like  as  the  other. 

The  indignation  of  the  Pharisees  had  passed  beyond 
all  limits  now,  and  they  went  out  and  held  a  council 
against  Him,  how  they  might  destroy  Him.  And  as 
He  withdrew  from  that  place,  the  multitudes  followed 
Him,  and  especially  those  that  were  favorable  to 
Him,  bringing  to  Him  their  troubled  and  their 
diseased  and  their  sick,  and  He  healed  them  all.  He 
quoted  to  them  the  prophecy  of  Isaiah,  made  long 
before,  descriptive  of  the  character  of  the  Messiah 
when  He  should  appear  among  men.  The  conclud- 
ing part  of  that  description  is  the  strange  language 
we  have  this  morning  for  a  text:  '*  A  bruised  reed 
shall  He  not  break,  and  smoking  flax  shall  He  not 
quench,  till  He  send  forth  judgment  unto  victory.'' 

Criticism  is,  I  fear,  a  very  common  and  dangerous 
sin.  I  speak,  of  course,  of  uncharitable  criticism,  of 
censorious  criticism,  of  carping  and  faultfinding  and 
misjudging.  That  is  a  very  common  sin,  I  fear,  and 
surely  it  is  a  very  dangerous  sin.  Many  a  wound  is 
received  into  many  a  life  because  some  word  was 
spoken  that  was  uncharitable,  unjust,  unkind,  un. 
christian,  which  wound  is  carried  to  the  grave. 
Jesus  put  His  mighty  protest  against  that  kind  of 
thing.  Do  you  not  recall  that  when  He  came  down 
to  the  closing  part  of  His  marvelous  sermon  on  the 
mount  He  talked  like  this  :  ''Judge  not,  that  ye  be 
not  judged.     For  with  what  judgment  ye  judge,  ye 


152    OHEISPS  MESSAGE  TO  THE  WEAK 

shall  be  judged  ;  aud  with  what  measure  ye  mete,  it 
shall  be  measured  to  you  again."  And  then  He 
asks  :  ''  Why  beholdest  thou  the  mote '' — a  mote  is  a 
little  splinter,  a  tiny  splinter — '^  Why  beholdest  thou 
the  tiny  splinter  that  is  in  thy  brother's  eye,  and  con- 
siderest  not  the  beam  " — a  beam  is  a  great  log — 
**considerest  not  the  great  log  that  is  in  thine  own 
eye?"  And  then  He  uses  terrific  words:  '^Thou 
hypocrite  !  First  cast  out  the  beam"— the  great  log 
— ''out  of  thine  own  eye;  and  then  shalt  thou  see 
clearly  to  cast  out  the  mote,"— the  little  splinter, — 
''out  of  thy  brother's  eye."  What  a  mighty  protest 
the  Saviour  here  brings  against  all  uncharitable  criti- 
cism !  [ffow  that  strange  setting  was  given  this  text. 
Criticism  harsh  and  reviling,  and  censorious,  and 
untrue,  gathered  around  the  life  and  works  of  Jesus, 
and  He  made  response  to  it  one  day  on  the  occasion 
of  the  text,  quoting  in  His  response  the  description 
given  of  Him  by  Isaiah  long  before,  as  the  prophet 
foretold  the  character  of  the  coming  One  who  should 
be  the  world's  Saviour  and  King. 

What  then  is  the  meaning  of  the  text?  In  its 
deep  meaning,  its  teaching  plainly  seems  to  be  that 
the  reign  of  Jesus  Christ  in  this  world  is  a  reign  of 
gentleness  and  compassion  and  forbearance  and  pa- 
tience and  tenderness  and  love.  Its  teaching  is  that 
while  Jesus  Christ  is  a  lion  to  devour  His  adversaries. 
He  is  at  the  same  time  a  lamb,  even  the  Lamb  of  God, 
who  will  take  away  the  sin  of  every  soul  that  will 
only  venture  to  surrender  utterly  to  Him.  The  teach- 
ing of  the  text  is  that  while  Jesus  Christ  came  into 
this  world  to  destroy  the  works  of  the  devil,  which  de- 
struction, thank  God,  shall  be  ultimately  and  effectu- 


CHRIST'S  MESSAGE  TO  THE  WEAK    153 

ally  accomplished,  yet  He  came  at  the  same  time  to 
save  poor  devil-deceived  and  devil-driven  souls,  if 
only  out  of  the  depths  of  repentant  hearts  they  will 
look  unto  Him. 

Those  two  little  metaphors  that  He  employs  are 
very  suggestive.  He  talks  about  the  bruised  reed 
and  about  the  smoking  flax.  Oh,  what  a  glorious 
teacher  was  Jesus  I  Every  teacher  ought  daily  to 
study  His  method.  He  took  up  the  simple  things 
of  life,  the  things  about  which  the  people  knew,  and 
from  these  He  drew  lessons  which  He  proclaimed  to 
the  people,  so  that  their  deep  meaning  would  more 
and  more  and  more  appear  out  of  these  simple  matters 
to  the  understanding  of  listening  minds  and  hearts. 
So  here  in  the  text  the  illustrations  are  exceedingly 
simple.  He  talks  about  the  bruised  reed  and  about 
the  smoking  flax.  These  are  indeed  very  little  and 
insignificant  things.  The  reed  was  the  little  musical 
instrument  employed  by  the  shepherd  as  he  led  his 
flocks  over  hill  and  vale.  As  he  blew  upon  that 
little  reed,  with  its  simple  indentures,  which  reed 
corresponds  to  the  cane  that  grows  on  our  river 
banks,  the  shepherd's  simple  music  was  thus  dis- 
coursed. That  reed  after  a  while  became  bruised, 
and  then  the  shepherd  threw  it  down  to  be  trodden 
under  foot  of  men  and  beasts.  And  Jesus'  word 
was  :  ''  I  will  not  break  the  bruised  reed."  And  He 
talked  about  the  smoking  flax.  The  writers  on  Ori- 
ental customs  tell  us  that  the  smoking  flax  was  some- 
thing that  corresponds  to  the  little  wick  that  you 
have  seen  put  down  into  a  vessel  of  oil  or  grease,  one 
end  of  which  is  ignited  and  gives  out  light.  That 
light  may  be  blown  out,  and  yet  the  flax  continues  to 


154    CHEIST'S  MESSAGE  TO  THE  WEAK 

smoke.  Jesus  took  that  simple  illustration  and  said  ■ 
^'  I  will  not  quench  the  smoking  flax." 

Let  us  see  if  we  may  not  learn  to-day  something  of 
the  wondrous  tenderness  and  good  cheer  in  these 
simple  illustrations  employed  by  the  Saviour. 

First  of  all,  they  suggest  weakness.  Jesus  does  not 
cast  us  off  and  desfcroy  us  because  of  our  weak d ess. 
Oh,  how  weak  we  are  !  What  is  weaker  than  a  little 
bruised  reed  ?  What  is  weaker  than  that  little  smok- 
ing flax  ?  Now  out  of  those  little  ordinary  illustra- 
tions the  Master  would  teach  us  a  wonderful  lesson 
for  the  cheer  of  our  oft  dispirited  hearts  and  for  the 
strengthening  of  our  wearied,  driven  lives.  Look  at 
ourselves  in  any  way  that  we  may,  and  our  painful 
weakness  will  be  discovered  to  us. 

Oh,  how  weak  we  are  in  knowledge !  How  little 
we  know !  How  little  we  know  about  anythiug  ! 
How  little  we  know  about  ourselves,  about  God, 
about  God's  word  !  How  little  we  know  about  His 
providence !  How  little  we  know  about  the  great, 
deep,  blessed  mysteries  of  grace !  Oh,  wondrous 
truth.  He  does  not  cast  us  off,  even  though  we  are  so 
weak  in  knowledge ! 

And  how  weak  we  are  in  faith  !  You  and  I,  assem- 
bled for  the  simple  service  of  this  Lord's  Day  morn- 
ing, ought  to  believe  more  profoundly  in  Jesus 
Christ  than  did  the  men  who  saw  Him  after  He  had 
risen  from  the  dead.  We  ought  to-day  to  believe 
more  in  Jesus  than  did  Thomas,  who,  when  he 
looked  upon  Jesus,  cried  out:  ^' My  Lord,  and  my 
God.'^  Nineteen  hundred  years  of  Christian  history 
are  behind  us.  Thomas  and  his  fellow  disciples 
were  in  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era.     We 


CHRIST'S  MESSAGE  TO  THE  WEAK    155 

have  seen  our  Lord 's  Word  put  to  every  possible  test. 
We  have  seen  every  doctrine  of  that  Book  pounded 
upon  with  all  the  forces  of  evil  known  to  men  and 
demons,  and  yet  the  Book  stands,  more  immovable 
and  impregnable  than  Gibraltar.  We  have  more 
right  to  believe  on  Jesus  Christ  to-day  than  the  men 
who  saw  Him  after  He  had  come  from  the  dead,  and 
who  journeyed  those  forty  days  with  Him,  as  He  yet 
further  revealed  the  mysteries  of  His  kingdom.  And 
yet  how  painfully  weak  we  are  in  faith !  Take  such 
a  promise  as  this:  '*If  two  of  you  shall  agree  on 
earth  as  touching  anything  that  they  shall  ask,  it 
shall  be  done  for  them  of  My  Father  which  is  in 
heaven.''  And  still  we  cower,  and  falter,  and  are 
impotent,  are  unbelieving  before  a  promise  like  that. 
And  yet,  thank  God,  He  does  not  cast  us  off. 

How  weak  we  are,  too,  in  resisting  temptation! 
Wasn't  it  Mr.  Spurgeon  who  said  that  there  is  a 
back  door  to  every  heart,  and  if  Satan  fails  to  get  in 
at  the  front  door,  then  he  enters  in  at  the  back  door  ? 
When  w^e  see  him  coming  to  the  front  door,  we  some- 
times arm  ourselves  and  resist  him,  because  we  are 
steadfast  in  the  faith.  This  is  the  victory  that  over- 
cometh  the  world,  and  Satan  too,  even  our  faith. 
We  sometimes  see  Satan  coming,  and  we  resist  him 
earnestly,  looking  unto  God  for  wisdom  and  help, 
and  thus  is  Satan  beaten  back,  even  as  Goliath  was 
vanquished  by  David  of  old.  Then  we  felicitate 
ourselves  upon  our  splendid  achievement,  and  ere 
we  are  aware,  Satan  has  gone  around  and  come  in  at 
the  back  door,  and  stormed  the  very  citadel  of  our 
being,  and  we  have  been  caught  in  his  snare  and 
have  gone  down  into  temptation  and  sin.     Thank 


156    CHRIST'S  MESSAGE  TO  THE  WEAK 

God,  He  does  not  cast  us  off  utterly,  leaving  us  with 
out  hope,  even  though  we  do  that ! 

And  then,  how  weak  we  are  when  we  are  called 
upon  to  endure  afflictions.  Oh,  how  we  chafe  and 
fume  and  fret  and  worry  under  life's  afflictions,  not 
laying  to  heart  the  gracious  promises  of  God  con- 
cerning them  !  Take  such  a  promise  as  this  :  '*  For 
our  light  afliction,  which  is  but  for  a  moment,  work- 
eth  for  us  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight 
of  glory."  Or  take  this;  "And  we  know  that  all 
things  work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love  God, 
to  them  who  are  the  called  according  to  His  pur- 
pose." And  yet  we  chafe  and  fume  and  worry  over 
the  afflictions  of  life,  which  afflictions  are  often  God's 
disciplinary  chastisements  to  humble  us,  and  to  con- 
quer our  selfishness,  and  to  win  us  away  from  the 
things  that  harm  us,  and  to  bring  us  closer  to  heaven 
and  to  Christ. 

And  then  how  weak  we  are  in  zeal.  One  of  the 
most  heart-breaking  things  on  this  earth  is  the  weak- 
ness of  God's  people  in  their  zeal  for  Him.  Why 
will  any  of  God^s  children  ever  walk  in  a  course  of 
life  that  could  at  all  suggest  the  compromise  of  their 
Lord  ?  Why  will  they  do  it  ?  How  can  they  do  it  ? 
Yet  they  do  those  very  things.  O  brethren,  blessed 
be  the  mercy  of  God,  that  though  we  are  weak  in 
faith,  though  we  are  weak  in  knowledge,  though  we 
are  weak  in  the  resistance  of  temptation,  though  we 
are  weak  in  the  endurance  of  affliction,  though  we  are 
weak  in  standing  up  for  Jesus,  the  very  thing  we  are 
left  in  the  world  to  do,  yet  He  does  not  cast  us  off ! 

Nor  is  that  all.  These  two  little  illustrations  sug- 
gest a  still  deeper  truth.     Jesus  does  not  cast  His 


CHRIST'S  MESSAGE  TO  THE  WEAK    157 

people  off,  even  though  seemingly  their  lives  may  be 
worthless.  That  bruised  reed  seems  to  be  a  worth- 
less thing.  The  shepherd  has  got  it  bruised,  and  no 
longer  does  it  discourse  music  for  him,  and  he  throws 
it  down  to  be  trampled  under  foot  of  man  and  beast. 
Jesus  takes  it  up,  turns  it  into  an  illustration,  and 
points  a  profoundly  cheering  lesson  for  the  tempted 
and  weak.  Christ  does  not  throw  His  blood-bought 
child  away,  even  though  he  may  be  weak,  and  even 
though,  to  human  appearances,  he  may  sometimes 
be  worthless.  Frequently,  we  raise  the  question: 
**Now,  what  good  am  I,  anyway,  in  the  kingdom  of 
God  ?  I  can  see  how  that  preacher  is  accomplishing 
something  ;  I  can  see  how  that  Sunday-school  worker 
is  bringing  something  graciously  to  pass.  But,  oh, 
what  good  am  I  ?  "  O  sir,  if  you  are  a  regenerated 
child  of  God,  He  will  not  cast  you  off.  He  will  not 
cast  you  off.     "I  will  not  break  the  bruised  reed." 

Nor  is  that  all.  These  illustrations  would  suggest 
that  sometimes  we  reach  the  place,  not  only  of  weak- 
ness in  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  not  only  of  seeming 
worthlessness  in  the  kingdom  of  God,  but  where  our 
lives  seem  positively  offensive  in  the  kingdom  of 
God,  and  yet  He  does  not  utterly  cast  off  such  worth- 
less ones. 

I  doubt  if  I  am  speaking  to  a  single  Christian  par- 
ent here  to-day  whose  Christian  course,  at  some 
time  or  another,  has  not  been  grievously  offensive 
in  the  kingdom  of  God.  Why  were  you  not  cast 
off?  Because  of  the  infinite  mercy  of  God.  That  is 
the  reason  why  the  backslider,  the  really  saved  soul 
that  was  tempted  and  seduced  away  from  holiness 
and  righteousness,  is  not  linally  lost.    Jesus  Christ 


158      CHRIST'S  MESSAGE  TO  THE  WEAK 

will  not  quench  the  smoking  flax.  The  greatest 
comfort  in  the  world  for  the  backslider  is  wrapped 
up  in  this  Scriptural  truth.  Jesus  will  not  quench 
the  smoking  flax.  Why?  Down  underneath  that 
little  smoking  flax  there  is  some  fire.  There  would 
not  be  smoke  unless  there  was  some  fire.  It  may  be 
just  a  little  fire,  but  there  is  some,  and  Jesus  will  not 
quench  that  little,  tiny,  smoking  spark.  Sometimes, 
ofttimes,  our  lives  seem  only  to  be  smoking  things 
for  God.  Yet  He  will  kindle  that  little  spark  of 
fire  underneath  the  smoke,  and  will  cause  the  wick 
to  be  lighted  again,  and  this  lighted  wick  may  yet 
kindle  a  great  conflagration.  Oh,  there  are  worlds 
of  comfort  here  for  the  return  of  the  backslidden 
Christian ! 

Now  what  is  the  gracious  encouragement  of  this 
text  for  Christ 's  people  ?  Here  it  is,  as  I  see  it.  The 
encouragement  of  this  text  for  Christ's  people  is  that 
the  least  little  Christian  in  the  world  is  as  really 
saved  as  is  the  greatest,  so  far  as  his  salvation  is 
concerned,  so  far  as  his  regeneration  is  concerned,  so 
far  as  his  justification  is  concerned.  But,  so  far  as 
his  happiness  is  concerned,  so  far  as  his  usefulness  is 
concerned,  so  far  as  his  joy  is  concerned,  so  far  as  his 
peace  is  concerned,  that  is  another  question.  There  are 
degrees  of  peace  and  joy  and  happiness  in  the  Chris- 
tian life.  But  the  teaching  of  this  text,  borne  out  by 
God's  Word,  is  that  the  salvation  of  the  least  little 
Christian  in  the  world  is  as  certain  a  fact  as  is  the 
salvation  of  Paul,  or  of  Abraham,  or  of  any  other 
who  has  mightily  influenced  the  world  for  the  Divine 
glory  and  for  human  good.  Now,  do  you  know  a 
sublimer  truth  than  that!     Do  you,   0   Christian, 


CHEIST'S  MESSAGE  TO  THE  WEAK    159 

know  any  sweeter  truth  than  that  the  least  little 
Christian  cleansed  by  the  blood  of  Christ  is  as 
thoroughly  saved  and  will  as  certainly  get  to  heaven 
as  the  greatest  Christian  on  the  face  of  the  earth  ? 
In  the  true  believer  there  is  planted  an  incorruptible 
seed  which  liveth  and  abideth  forever.  Oh,  isn't 
that  glorious? 

Now,  why  is  that  so  ?  That  is  so  because  this  little 
Christian,  first  of  all,  cost  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  just  as 
much  as  the  big  one  cost  Him.  This  little  Christian 
had  the  same  price  paid  for  his  redemption  as  had 
the  mightiest  Christian  who  ever  testified  for  Jesus. 
This  little  Christian,  I  say,  cost  our  Lord  just  as  much 
as  did  the  biggest.  Sometimes  we  have  heard  a  song 
that  went  something  like  this : 

*•  One  drop  of  the  blood,  one  drop  of  the  blood, 

He  shed  upon  Calvary's  brow, 
Will  cleanse  me  from  sin  and  free  me  within 
And  make  me  e'en  whiter  than  snow." 

The  song  is  not  a  good  one.  It  does  not  convey 
the  truth,  just  as  some  other  sweet  sounding  songs  do 
not  convey  the  truth.  Every  drop  of  the  blood  poured 
out  from  all  those  gaping  wounds  in  His  dear  body 
was  for  me.  That  agony  of  the  cross,  all  that  desola- 
tion, that  loneliness,  those  quivering  limbs,  that  fall- 
ing blood,  all  of  it,  all  of  it,  was  for  me.  Jesus 
Christ  did  not  die  for  men  in  the  bulk,  but  He  died 
for  the  individual.  "  The  Son  of  God  who  loved  me, 
and  gave  Himself  for  me. "  I  cost  my  Lord  all  oi 
Gethsemane  and  all  of  Calvary.  I  cost  Him  as  much 
as  did  Paul.  He  paid  the  same  price  for  the  leasfc 
f^ne  in  His  kingdom  as  for  the  greatest. 


160    CHRIST'S  MESSAGE  TO  THE  WEAK 

Nor  is  that  all.  Jesus  Christ  will  see  to  the  cer- 
tain salvation  of  the  least  little  Christian  as  well  as 
the  greatest,  because  He  does  the  saving.  Oh^ 
precious  truth,  most  glorious  doctrine,  salvation  is 
by  grace.  The  least  saint  in  His  kingdom  will  be  as 
certainly  saved  as  the  greatest,  because  the  salvation 
of  both  is  by  grace.  ^'By  grace  are  ye  saved, 
through  faith,  and  that  not  of  yourselves ;  it  is  the 
gift  of  God,  not  of  works,  lest  any  man  should  boast.'' 
And  so  that  little,  timid,  shrinking  Christian,  daring 
hardly  to  venture  the  public  confession  that  he  be- 
lieves on  Christ,  yet  if  he  does  really  believe  on  Him, 
he  is  as  thoroughly  saved  as  the  mighty  Christian 
who  shoutB,  '*  I  know  that  my  Eedeemer  liveth,"  be- 
cause Jesus  does  the  saving  of  them  both.  Marvelous 
comfort  is  this  for  the  timid  children  of  God  !  It  is 
the  testimony  of  God's  word.  ^^  My  sheep  hear  My 
voice,  and  I  know  them,  and  they  follow  Me.  And 
I  give  unto  them  eternal  life  ;  and  they  shall  never 
perish,  neither  shall  any  man  pluck  them  out  of  My 
hand.  My  Father,  which  gave  them  Me,  is  greater 
than  all  ;  and  no  man  is  able  to  pluck  them  out  of 
My  Father's  hand.  I  and  My  Father  are  one."  Oh^ 
there  is  a  cable  that  Satan  will  never  break,  never  ! 
Never  in  perdition  will  Satan  shout:  "Here  is  one 
who  once  was  saved  through  Jesus'  blood."  Never  ! 
Satan  may  harm  our  influence.  He  may  do  terrible 
hurt  to  our  happiness.  He  may  afflict  us  with  many 
sorrows  here.  But  never  will  he  hold  a  banquet  in 
hell  over  the  blood-washed  child  of  God  !  Tell  it 
everywhere,  the  least  little  Christian  is  as  really 
Baved  as  is  the  greatest  and  the  happiest  and  the 
most  useful.     "  Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  o\^ 


CHEIST'S  MESSAGE  TO  THE  WEAK    161 

Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  hath  begotten  us  again  into  a 
lively  hope,  to  au  inheritance  incorrupt! bJe,  and  un- 
defiled,  and  that  fadeth  not  away,  reserved  in  heaven 
for  you  who  are  kept  by  the  power  of  God  through 
faith  unto  salvation,  ready  to  be  revealed  in  the  last 
time."  Isn't  it  glorious?  Salvation,  not  of  human 
works,  salvation  by  the  infinite  grace  of  Almighty 
God  !  O  brethren,  it  is  the  sweetest  thing  I  ever 
heard  in  this  world,  salvation  through  the  grace  of 
God.  Christ's  work  of  salvation  is  sure.  Yonder,  in 
my  native  state  of  iTorth  Carolina,  when  the  railroad 
came  through  those  towering  mountains,  the  Alle- 
ghany range,  some  years  ago,  it  wound  around  moun- 
tainsides and  went  over  yawning  chasms,  and 
through  tunnels,  and  by  the  edges  of  awful  precipices. 
If  the  train  had  turned  just  an  inch  or  two,  it  would 
have  gone  over  with  all  the  passengers,  hundreds  of 
feet  below,  and  dashed  them  to  instant  death.  One 
day  the  engineer  took  his  wife  and  little  sou  into  the 
engine  with  him,  as  they  made  that  run  from  Ashe- 
ville  to  Murphy.  And  the  little  son,  five  years  old, 
laughed  with  delight  as  he  looked  out  of  that  window 
at  the  yawning  chasms  and  fearful  precipices.  The 
mother  after  a  while  said  :  '^  Son,  aren't  you  afraid? 
If  this  train  were  to  jump  off  this  track  we  would  be 
dashed  to  death,  all  of  us,  in  one  minute.  Aren't 
you  afraid  ?  "  And  with  perfect  assurance  the  little 
man  answered  :  ^ '  No,  mama,  I  am  not  afraid  because 
my  papa  is  running  this  engine.'^  Glory  be  to  God, 
Jesus  Christ  guides  the  engine  of  the  car  of  salva- 
tion !  There  will  be  no  collisions  and  there  will  be 
no  wrecks.  There  will  be  no  dashing  over  the 
precipices  to  the  rocks  of  eternal  death  for  any  one 


162      CHEIST'S  MESSAGE  TO  THE  WEAK 

who  has  surely  rested  his  case  for  salvation  upon  the 
Son  of  God.  Do  you  see  that  ship  yonder  on  the  sea  ? 
See  how  it  tosses.  A  great  storm  is  sweeping  the  sea. 
Do  you  see  the  ship  far  out  there,  many  hundreds  of 
miles  in  mid-ocean?  Do  you  not  also  see  the  angry 
clouds,  and  do  you  not  hear  the  awful  roar  of 
thunder?  On  that  ship  is  an  old  captain,  quietly 
sitting  at  the  helm,  smoking  with  perfect  com- 
placency.  He  is  not  afraid.  On  that  same  ship  is  a 
little  girl,  an  orphan  child,  of  a  dozen  years,  crossing 
the  ocean  to  loved  ones  yonder  where  she  can  have  a 
home,  because  her  own  parents  are  dead.  The  timid 
girl  of  a  dozen  years  is  on  the  sea  for  the  first  time. 
The  child  trembles  and  sobs  and  wrings  her  hands, 
she  is  so  distressed.  But  is  not  the  child's  life  as 
safe  as  that  of  the  quiet  captain  ?  She  is  on  the  same 
ship.  0  brothers,  we  live  because  we  are  in  Christ. 
If  you  are  just  in  Christ,  your  salvation  is  an  absolute 
certainty.  Some  time  ago  a  pastor  found  himself  on 
the  outskirts  of  the  city,  making  pasteral  calls,  as 
night  came  on.  As  he  turned  homeward,  he  was  at- 
tracted by  what  seemed  to  be  the  sobs  of  a  child.  It 
was  even  so.  A  little  lad  had  lost  his  way.  The 
older  boys  had  taken  him  there,  had  purposely  left 
the  little  fellow,  and  he  did  not  know  how  to  get 
home  and  night  was  coming  on.  The  pastor,  as  he 
drove  along,  heard  the  sobs,  found  the  little  fellow, 
and  listened  to  his  story.  The  boys  had  taken  him 
out  there  and  had  left  him.  The  pastor  said,  after 
he  heard  it  all:  "Will  you  trust  me  to  take  you 
home?"  The  little  fellow  came  out  from  under  the 
electric  light  and  searchingly  looked  up  into  the 
preacher's  face.    What  should  he  do?    He  had  been 


CHEIST'S  MESSAGE  TO  THE  WEAK    163 

deceived  once.  But  after  searching  the  preacher's 
face  with  his  little  earnest  eyes  for  a  moment,  lie 
said  :  "Yes,  sir  ;  you  may  take  me  home."  The  lit- 
tle fellow  knew  the  street  and  number.  The  preacher 
took  him  home.  The  mother  was  already  distraught 
with  unspeakable  anxiety  for  the  little  thing  that  was 
missing.  And  when  the  preacher  took  the  little 
thing  to  the  door,  the  mother  was  overwhelmed  with 
joy  as  she  clasped  the  child  to  her  heart  and  thanked 
the  preacher.  What  if  that  preacher  had  stopped 
when  he  got  the  little  one  half-way  home,  and  had 
left  the  little  fellow  to  whatever  fate  might  happen  to 
him  ?  O  sirs,  wiU  Jesus  Christ  begin  the  work  of 
salvation  in  a  human  soul  and  abandon  that  soul  I 
Never,  forever!  '^He  which  hath  begun  a  good 
work  in  you  will  perform  it  until  the  day  of  Jesus 
Christ." 

How  long  is  this  blessed  preservation  to  continue  ! 
*'•  A  bruised  reed  shall  He  not  break,  and  smoking 
flax  shall  He  not  quench,  till  He  send  forth  judgment 
unto  victory."  There  is  to  be  '*  victory."  That  is  a 
noble  word,  and  nobler  still  when  applied  to  the 
triumph  of  God's  grace  in  a  believer's  heart.  Yonder 
lay  General  Wolfe  dying  on  the  heights  of  Abraham, 
wounded  to  death  in  the  fearful  battle.  They  laid 
his  mortally  wounded  body  under  a  tree,  and  while 
his  life-blood  ebbed  away,  as  he  lay  there  attended 
by  two  of  his  men,  they  heard  shouts  on  the  field, 
and  the  shout  was:  "They  fly,  they  fly."  And 
the  dying  Wolfe,  arousing  himself  from  his  death 
struggle,  said  :  "  Who  is  it  that  flies?  "  And  they 
said:  "General,  the  enemy  flies."  Then  clasping 
his  hands,  he  said,  barely  able  to  be  heard:  "Vic- 


164    CHEIST'S  MESSAGE  TO  THE  WEAK 

tory !  I  die  happy."  O  my  brothers,  it  is  victory 
for  the  soul  that  surely  relies  upou  Jesus  Christ.  It 
is  victory  here,  and  hereafter.  The  white  hairs  of 
these  men  and  women  tell  us  that  soon,  ah,  too  soon, 
we  must  follow  them  yonder  to  the  grave,  and  they 
shall  sleep  with  their  fathers.  But  it  is  victory  for 
them.  Is  there  anything  more  beautifully  glorious 
than  a  ripe  old  Christian  waiting  for  the  summons  to 
go  home?  It  is  victory  for  these  middle-aged  men 
and  women,  out  in  the  thick  of  the  battle,  driven  and 
beaten  and  tossed.  Oh,  it  is  victory,  so  far  as  your 
salvation  is  concerned,  if  you  are  hidden  with  Christ. 
It  is  victory  for  these  young  Christians.  Oh,  how 
Satan  does  his  utmost  to  delude  the  human  soul  on 
this  vital  point.  A  thousand  times,  I  dare  say,  men' 
have  said  to  me  :  "I  would  like  to  be  a  Christian, 
but  I  am  afraid  that  I  could  not  hold  out  long." 
I  answer :  "  You  cannot  hold  out  until  sundown, 
you  cannot  hold  out  five  minutes,  you  cannot  hold 
out  sixty  seconds."  Christ  holds  the  soul  that 
surrenders  to  Him.  Christ  comes  in  and  reinforces 
it.  Christ  has  been  formed  within  such  soul  the 
hope  of  glory,  and  greater  is  He  that  is  in  you 
than  he  that  is  in  the  world.  Oh,  that  we  may  be 
clear  on  this  vital  point  as  we  deal  with  lost  men. 
They  cannot  live  the  Christian  life,  if  left  to  them- 
selves, for  one  hour.  See  how  Paul  put  it:  "1 
know  whom  I  have  believed,  and  am  persuaded  that 
He  is  able  to  keep  that  which  I  have  committed  unto 
Him  against  that  day." 

My  message  is  done  and  my  hour  is  gone.  What 
about  it  all  ?  My  closing  word  to  these  Christians, 
first  of  all,   is  that  they  be  happy  to-day  in  the 


CHEIST'S  MESSAGE  TO  THE  WEAK    165 

precious  thought  that  they  are  saved.  Have  you 
really  surrendered  to  Christ  1  If  yes,  then  we  will 
walk  the  heaveuly  street  together.  Have  you  re- 
ceived Jesus  Christ  to  be  your  Saviour?  *^I  am 
persuaded  that  ueither  death,  nor  life,  nor  angels, 
nor  principalities,  nor  powers,  nor  things  present, 
nor  things  to  couie,  nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any 
other  creature  shall  be  able  to  separate  us  from  the 
love  of  God  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord." 
Oh,  just  sit  down,  this  blessed  Lord's  Day,  and 
pouder  this  precious  truth  :  ''I  am  saved,  I  am 
saved,  thank  God,  I  am  saved ! "  Do  I  speak  to 
some  who  are  unhappy,  some  backslidden  souls, 
some  lukewarm,  indifferent  Christians,  some  who  are 
among  the  fleshpots  of  Egypt,  some  who  are  not 
living  up  to  their  privileges  ?  Then  I  would  bring 
you  back  to  consider  afresh  the  vital  question 
whether  you  have  really  taken  Jesus  to  be  your 
Saviour.  Oh,  let  us  be  clear  on  this  point.  O  back- 
slider, who  in  the  other  days  had  joy  and  peace  in 
your  Christian  living,  and  now  the  heavens  seem 
like  brass,  come  back  to-day,  confessing  your  sins 
and  yielding  yourself  afresh  to  this  all-merciful 
Saviour.  O  soul,  neglecting  your  duty  to  Christ, 
come  back  to-day  !  O  church  member,  not  in  con- 
scious fellowship  with  Jesus,  come  back  to-day. 
Come  and  confess  your  backslidings  and  sins,  and 
He  will  surely  heal  you.  Come  back.  You  ought 
to  do  it  to-day.  Act  this  morning  upon  His  blessed 
promise  :  '^  If  we  confess  our  sins,  He  is  faithful  and 
just  to  forgive  us  our  sins,  and  to  cleanse  us  from  all 
unrighteousness. " 


X 

The  Conquering  Hosts  of  God 

Text:  ^' And  when  tlie  servant  of  the  man  of 
God  was  risen  early,  and  gone  forth,  behold,  an 
host  compassed  the  city  both  with  horses  and 
chariots.  And  his  servant  said  unto  him,  Alas, 
my  master  !  how  shall  we  do  %  And  he  an- 
swered, Fear  not ;  for  they  that  be  with  us  are 
more  than  they  that  be  with  them.  And  Elisha 
prayed  and  said.  Lord,  I  pray  Thee,  open  his 
eyes  that  he  may  see.  And  the  Lord  opened  the 
eyes  of  the  young  man  and  he  saw  ;  and,  behold, 
the  mountain  was  full  of  horses  and  chariots  of 
fire  round  about  Elisha."— 2  Kings  vi.  15, 
16,  17. 

THE  text  calls  our  attention  to  one  of  the 
most  interesting  events  in  all  the  Old 
Testament  Scriptures.  There  are  several 
remarkably  interesting  events  connected  with  the  life 
of  this  man  Elisha.  This  one  we  are  now  to  consider 
is  one  of  the  most  beautiful,  one  of  the  most  instruct- 
ive, and  one  of  the  most  comforting  for  the  people  of 
God.  Here  in  the  text  are  two  men,  the  poles  apart 
in  their  feeling  and  in  their  spirit.  One  is  swept 
with  consternation  and  fear,  and  the  other  is  perfectly 
calm  and  tranquil.  The  one  is  dismayed  by  the  pros- 
pects of  harm  from  the  enemies  about  them.  The 
other  calmly  looks  above  all  the  dust  and  tumult  of 
jarth  and  sees  and  trusts  One  able  and  ready,  and 

166 


THE  CONQUERING  HOSTS  OF  GOD       167 

certain,  to  take  care  of  His  people.  The  latter  man 
is  steadfast  in  faith,  which  faith  God's  children  ought 
ever  to  bear  towards  Him.  The  former  is  held  ter- 
ribly in  the  grip  of  material  things  and  earthly  sur- 
roundings and  thus  comes  short  of  the  privileges  of 
the  lofty  and  conquering  faith  the  child  of  God  ought 
to  have. 

The  text  strikingly  suggests  a  lesson  that  needs 
always  to  be  laid  to  heart,  and  that  lesson  is  that 
God's  presence  wdth  His  people  is  not  a  mere  theory, 
but  a  most  glorious  fact.  Our  theory,  to  be  sure,  is 
that  God  is  with  His  people.  We  delight  to  say 
that  He  does  not  leave  them  in  the  sixth  trouble,  nor 
forsake  them  in  the  seventh ;  that  He  never  fails  nor 
forsakes.  That  is  our  theory.  The  truth  of  this 
Scripture  mightily  brings  out  the  lesson  that  the 
theory  is  a  fact ;  a  fact  that  can  be  relied  upon ;  the 
piost  certain  fact  in  the  life  of  God's  child;  the  fact 
that  never  fails.  Yes,  God  is  with  His  people.  They 
may  rely  upon  it.  He  never  fails  nor  forsakes  them. 
He  does  keep  His  word  to  His  people. 

Many  striking  lessons  are  suggested  by  this  old- 
time  incident.  Some  of  these  lessons  I  desire  to  con- 
sider with  you  to-day.  The  first  is,  God's  presence 
with  His  people  is  not  realized  by  the  enemies  of 
God  and  His  people.  This  truth  is  forcefully  brought 
out  in  the  context.  The  king  of  Syria,  Benhadad, 
utterly  forgot  to  reckon  upon  God  when  he  was  mak- 
ing war  against  Israel's  king  and  prophet  and  people. 
Men  always  miss  it  to  the  last  degree  who  do  not 
reckon  upon  God.  God's  enemies,  who  are  likewise 
the  enemies  of  His  people,  fail  at  this  point,  which 
is  a  vital  point.     They  do  not  reckon  upon  God's 


168     THE  CONQUEEING  HOSTS  OF  GOD 

presence  with  His  people.  That  illustration  finds 
the  most  striking  expression  in  this  old-time  story. 
The  king  of  Syria  was  bent  on  doing  destruction  to 
the  king  and  country  of  Israel.  So  he  laid  the  finest 
plans  and  gave  himself  to  the  most  splendid  military 
tactics  to  destroy  the  king  of  Israel  and  the  people  of 
Israel,  and  yet  he  found  himself  every  time  foiled. 
His  best  laid  plans  came  to  naught.  He  went  down 
every  time  in  defeat.  His  shrewdly  laid  plans,  when 
he  came  to  the  execution  of  them,  were  all  utterly 
futile.  His  projects  to  surround  the  king  and  his 
army  were  somehow  always  baffled.  When,  again 
and  again,  he  pursued  his  well-laid  plan,  supposing 
that  this  time  he  had  the  king  in  a  net,  the  king  was 
not  there,  neither  were  his  men.  So,  by  and  by,  the 
king  of  Syria,  in  great  disappointment,  and  with 
heart  much  piqued,  called  his  men  together  and  said  : 
''  What  nan  do  I  have  who  is  for  the  king  of  Israel  ? 
uThere  must  be  some  traitor  in  my  camp.  Now,  who 
is  it  1 "  And  one  of  them  answered  back  :  '^  Not  at 
all,  O  king.  Your  diagnosis  is  incorrect.  It  is  not 
some  man  in  your  army  that  is  making  the  trouble 
for  you.  God  has  a  man  on  the  other  side,  one  man, 
and  all  your  secrets,  whispered  in  your  bedchamber, 
God  communicates  to  that  proi>het,  EKsha,  and  the 
prophet  communicates  them  to  the  king,  and  when 
you  are  just  ready  to  take  them  in  your  net,  they  are 
not  there  to  be  taken.  That  is  the  explanation.'' 
And  then  the  king  said:  ''Where  is  he?  I  will 
make  short  work  of  him.  If  he  be  the  hindrance, 
then  the  hindrance  shall  be  removed.  Let  that  man 
be  found."  And  so  the  king  gathers  about  him  a 
great  army,   and  he  sends  them  forth  by  night  to 


THE  CONQUERING  HOSTS  OF  GOD     169 

surround  this  prophet,  this  one  lone  prophet,  as  he 
was  in  Dothan.  The  whole  army  is  to  surround  him, 
and  then  with  the  coming  of  the  morning  to  capture 
him. 

What  a  tribute  the  bad  man  unconsciously  pays  to 
the  good  man  !  Think  of  sending  a  great  army  after 
one  man  !  Think  of  sending  horses  and  chariots  and 
a  great  host,  with  all  the  accoutrements  of  war,  after 
one  lone  man  !  Yet  that  is  the  tribute  that  the  bad 
man  pays  to  the  good  mau.  All  along  the  bad  man 
feels  the  emanations  from  the  good  man  of  an  influ- 
ence, invisible  and  subtle,  yet  strangely  mighty,  and 
this,  time  and  again,  strikes  terror  to  the  bad  man's 
heart,  as  well  it  may.  It  was  that  same  feeling  that 
provoked  bloody  Queen  Mary  to  say  on  one  occasion  : 
"  I  fear  the  prayers  of  John  Knox  more  than  I  fear 
an  army  of  ten  thoasaud  men."  There  was  some- 
thing in  John  Knox,  the  outflowing  of  which  smote 
terror  to  the  heart  of  the  cruel  queen.  So,  also,  this 
wicked  king  unconsciously  pays  a  marvelous  tribute 
to  this  man  of  God.  He  sends  a  great  a  rmy,  equipped 
with  all  the  equipments  of  war,  to  startle  and  terrify 
and  to  capture  the  plain,  simple  prophet  of  God. 

Now,  the  folly  of  this  man  is  the  folly  of  every 
other  bad  man.  The  extreme  folly  of  this  Syrian 
king  was  that  he  did  not  reckon  upon  God.  This 
the  enemies  of  God  all  along  fail  to  do.  This  was  the 
mistake  made  by  Edward,  the  king  of  England. 
When  Edward,  king  of  England,  rode  out  before  the 
Scottish  troops  before  the  battle  of  Baunockburn,  he 
said  to  the  great  general  who  rode  along  by  his  side  : 
'•''  Why,  there  is  just  a  handful  of  those  fellows,  and 
we  have  an  army  that  are  as  the  sands  of  the  sea  for 


170     THE  CONQUEEING  HOSTS  OF  GOD 

multitude.  There  is  just  a  handful  of  those  men. 
Do  they  mean  to  fight  us  ?  "  Then  in  a  moment  more 
all  those  Scottish  troops  kneeled  down  in  plain  sight 
of  the  army  of  Edward,  and  the  general  who  rode 
alongside  Edward  said  ;  ^'  See,  king.  Yon  men  who 
pray  will  win  the  day  or  they  will  die."  They 
reckoned  on  God,  while  King  Edward  and  his 
hosts  left  Him  out.  Bad  men,  all  along,  are  failing 
to  reckon  upon  God,  and  are  thus  making  their  ever- 
lasting mistake.  That  has  been  the  ruinous  mistake 
of  the  persecutor  through  the  generations.  The  man 
who  thinks  to  undo  God's  work  by  swords,  by  imple- 
ments of  war,  by  carnal  weapons,  the  man  who  thinks 
to  do  that,  fails  sooner  or  later,  and  fails  utterly.  He 
always  fails,  as  surely  he  ought  to  fail.  With  pardon- 
able pride  my  Baptist  people  may  point  to  one 
record,  and  that  is  that  never  in  all  the  stretch  of  the 
centuries  did  Baptists  persecute  for  religion's  sake. 
Here  is  one  chaplet  of  glory  men  will  never  take 
from  the  brow  of  my  beloved  people.  We  have  al- 
ways contended  that  every  man  must  be  allowed  to 
worship  God  without  restraint  or  proscription.  We 
have  contended  that  the  thumbscrew  and  the  rack 
and  the  tortures  of  the  Inquisition  and  every  con- 
ceivable expression  of  persecution  are  all  utterly 
inimical  to  God's  spirit  and  to  God's  plan.  But  the 
bad  man  forgets  that  God  will  not  have  His  people  to 
trust  in  carnal  weapons.  That  would  be  for  them  to 
compromise  His  spirit  and  His  purpose  and  His 
revelation  to  man. 

Here,  then,  is  the  mistake  of  the  persecutor  al- 
ways. It  was  the  mistake  of  Pharaoh  when  he  op- 
pressed Israel  in  Egypt.     Pharaoh  did  not  reckon 


THE  CONQUERmO  HOSTS  OF  GOD     171 

upon  God.  Moses  said  :  '^  You  had  better  take  God 
into  your  plans."  Moses  said:  **You  must  sooner 
or  later  consciously  come  into  direct  dealing  with 
Him."  Moses  said:  ^'You  may  not  always  trifle 
with  Him  with  impunity.'^  Moses  said  :  ^^ There  is 
a  pay-day  coming."  Moses  said:  "O  king,  you 
had  better  consider  Him  who  sits  in  the  heavens,  unto 
whom  all  men  must  answer.  You  had  better  reckon 
upon  Him."  But  Pharaoh  scouted  it  all  and  scorned 
it  all  and  laughed  at  it  all.  But  one  dark  night  the 
death-dealing  messenger,  God's  angel,  marched  up 
and  down  the  borders  of  Egypt,  and  when  the  morn- 
ing came,  the  wailing  land  of  Egypt,  from  border  to 
border,  sounded  out  the  desolate  cry  of  uncounted 
hosts,  because  the  first- bom  in  every  house  lay  dead. 
Then  the  king's  heart  relented  and  he  said  :  "There 
is  a  God,  and  I  cannot  trifle  with  Him."  That  was 
the  trouble  with  Herod,  who  had  the  Innocents  put 
to  death — thinking  thus  to  foil  the  purpose  of  God. 
Herod  thought  that  by  sword,  by  faggot,  by  carnal 
weapons,  he  could  obliterate  the  kingdom  of  God. 
That  way  has  always  failed.  When  they  have  ap- 
plied the  torch  to  one  child  of  God,  persecuting  him 
to  death,  burning  him  at  the  stake  for  religion's  sake, 
out  of  the  ashes  have  come  troops  of  Christians  who 
said  :  '• '  We  believe  what  that  man  believes  whom 
you  have  just  burned  to  death.  We  are  ready  to  be 
burned  for  the  same  thing."  And  when  they  have 
drowned  some  man  in  the  same  spirit,  out  of  the 
gurgling  waters  have  come  ten  thousand  men,  and 
they  have  said  :  ' '  Drown  us.  We  believe  the  same 
thing. "  The  bad  man  fails  to  reckon  upon  God  and 
is  doomed.     The  king  of  the  olden  days  left  God  out 


^ 


172     THE  CONQUEEING  HOSTS  OF  GOD 

of  his  plans  and  was  doomed.  Every  such  man  ig 
doomed.  Poor  Voltaire  left  God  out  of  his  plans, 
utterly  scouted  the  doctrines  of  God  ;  scouted  them  so 
completely  as  to  say  :  ''In  a  little  while  there  will 
not  be  a  Bible  left,  nor  a  Christian."  He  printed 
that  direful  prophecy  on  his  printing-press.  See 
what  has  come  to  pass.  God's  people  have  captured 
that  printing-press  for  righteousness,  and  the  same 
printing-press  to-day  prints  this  blessed  Word  of 
God,  and  the  house  in  which  poor  Voltaire  lived  is 
now,  they  tell  us,  a  great  Bible  store  from  which  are 
scattered  everywhere  the  leaves  from  the  Book  of 
Life.  Poor  Tom  Paine,  whose  writings  have  harmed 
so  many  young  men — poor  Paine  said  in  1809;  ''In 
oae  hundred  years  there  will  not  be  a  Bible  left." 
The  one  hundred  years  are  barely  gone,  but  more 
than  twenty  times  the  number  of  Bibles  that  the  peo- 
ple ever  heard  of  before  have  been  printed  and  scat- 
tered over  the  world  since  that  direful  prophecy. 
He  did  not  reckon  upon  God.  Poor  Ingersoll,  who 
went  up  and  down  this  great  country,  lecturing  to 
large  audiences  with  his  striking  wit  and  sarcasm, 
building  Up  men  of  straw  to  knock  them  down— on 
the  very  spot  where  he  wrote  his  lecture  which  he 
was  pleased  to  style  :  "  The  Mistakes  of  Moses,"  on 
that  very  spot  they  have  builded  a  noble  house  of 
worship,  open  every  day  in  the  week  and  every  week 
in  the  year,  in  which  building  scores  and  hundreds 
and  thousands  every  year  hear  of  God  and  many  be- 
lieve and  live. 

Every  man  who  leaves  God  out  of  his  reckoning 
comes  to  desolation.  The  business  man  who  leaves 
Him  out  will  come  to  defeat.     That  was  the  sig- 


THE  CONQUERING  HOSTS  OF  GOD     173 

nificance  of  that  parable  which  Jesus  spoke  to  us 
about  the  rich  man.  He  wished  to  build  great 
barns  because  the  old  barns  were  inadequate.  He 
would  fill  them  with  his  harvests,  and  then  be  ready 
for  every  exigency.  But  in  the  unexpected  hour,  in 
the  very  heyday  of  his  glory,  when  he  was  on  the 
pinnacle  of  his  splendid  worldly  achievement,  God 
suddenly  took  him  in  hand,  with  the  awful  state- 
ment :  "  This  night  thy  life  shall  be  required  of  thee, 
thou  fool."  Men  who  do  not  reckon  upon  God  come 
to  just  such  destruction.  So  it  was  with  the  king  of 
Syria.     So  it  always  is.     So  it  ever  shall  be. 

Let  us  study  a  second  lesson  suggested  by  the  text. 
It  is  that  God's  presence  is  often  not  realized  by  His 
own  people.  We  see  that  here  in  the  case  of  Elisha's 
servant.  It  is  altogether  probable  that  this  name- 
less servant  of  Elisha  was  a  Christian.  He  was  daily 
with  the  prophet  of  God.  He  ministered  to  him. 
They  were  close  companions.  It  is  probable,  there- 
fore, that  this  servant  of  Elisha  was  a  Christian. 
But  note  the  contrast  between  the  two  men.  The 
servant  was  swept  with  fear.  Apprehension  seized 
him.  Awful  dismay  possessed  him  as  he  looked 
around  one  morning  and  saw  the  city  surrounded 
with  horses  and  chariots  and  a  great  host  of  soldiers, 
with  all  the  implements  of  war.  He  came  back  to 
the  prophet  with  the  cry  :  ''Alas,  my  master,  how 
shall  we  do  ? "  Now  see  how  the  prophet  spoke  : 
' '  Fear  not,  for  they  that  be  with  us  are  more  than 
they  that  be  with  them."  ''Why,  there  are  just  two 
of  us.  Master,"  cries  the  servant,  "there  are  just 
two  of  us,  and  there  are  thousands  of  them  ;  what  can 
we  do  ?  "     And  the  prophet  makes  some  such  reply 


174     THE  OONQDEEmG  HOSTS  OF  GOD 

as  this:  ''There  is  One,  an  invisible  One,  and  that 
One  counteth  more  in  the  carrying  forward  of  the 
cause  of  right  than  all  the  armored  battalions  of  men 
that  can  ever  make  their  tramp  felt  in  all  the  world.  ^* 
Then  the  prophet  prays:  "O  God,  open  his  eyes 
that  he  may  see  ;  just  let  the  young  man  see."  And 
the  Lord  opened  his  eyes  and  behold,  the  mountains 
were  filled  with  horses  and  chariots  of  fire  round 
about  the  two  men. 

Oh,  that  is  a  faithful  picture  of  the  situation  to- 
day !  How  like  Elisha^s  servant  are  we  all  at  times ! 
We  look  and  we  see  tlie  horses  and  the  chariots  and 
the  marvelous  display  of  carnal  weapons,  and  we 
feel :  "  Alas,  who  are  we,  and  what  can  we  do  in  the 
presence  of  such  foes  and  forces  I  '^  And  the  more 
that  we  cherish  such  a  spirit,  the  more  easily  may 
the  enemies  of  God  triumph  over  us.  The  awful  prob- 
lem, the  awful  sin  with  the  people  of  God,  is  their 
behavior  like  unto  the  behavior  of  Elisha's  servant. 
Take  our  many  fears.  How  fearful  we  can  be ! 
How  easily  dismayed  we  can  become  !  What  terrific 
apprehensions  do  we  allow,  at  times,  to  possess  us  ! 
What  darts  of  trouble  we  see  flying  around  us  !  Oh, 
what  moaning  winds  come  to  us !  And  we  say  : 
"Things  are  just  awful,  just  simply  awful!" 
Things  are  not  awful  at  all  while  God  is  with  us. 
Some  one  put  it  right  when  he  said  that  even  God's 
people  insist  on  having  a  trouble  factory  in  their 
houses,  and  if  trouble  does  not  come  along  naturally, 
they  put  the  factory  to  work  and  make  it  come.  We 
somehow  imagine  that  this  is  a  part  of  the  Christian 
program,  that  we  should  be  cast  down  with  trouble; 
I  think  I  have  told  some  of  you  at  the  prayer- meet 


THE  CONQUERING  HOSTS  OF  GOD     176 

ing  of  an  experience  elsewhere,  where  time  and  again 
I  called  to  see  an  old  woman,  who  was  very  well- 
to-do,  who  had  a  magnificent  bank  account,  large 
plantations,  splendid  material  possessions  ;  and  every 
time  I  visited  her  she  dealt  out  to  me  the  sad  story 
of  her  apprehensions  and  fears.  She  was  afraid 
somebody  would  get  that  bank  stock.  She  was 
afraid  somebody  would  manipulate  her  out  of  those 
great  plantations,  and  out  of  that  splendid  home  left 
her  by  her  husband.  She  was  afraid  that  at  last  the 
outcome  would  be  for  her  that  she  would  have  to  die 
in  a  poorhouse.  I  heard  that  as  long  as  I  could,  and 
at  last  I  ventured  to  say :  ''Well,  my  good  woman, 
what  if  you  do  have  to  die  in  the  poorhouse  ?  What 
does  that  signify"?  If  you  are  God's  child,  as  you 
say,  fais  convoy  of  angels  would  as  surely  meet  you 
fchere,  to  carry  you  up  to  the  heavenly  heights,  as 
they  would  call  for  you  were  you  in  the  splendid 
palace.  ^^  How  she  did  dishonor  God  by  all  such 
talk.  I  knew  another  Christian  who,  every  time  the 
spring  came,  could  see  hobgoblins  and  specters  and 
ghosts.  It  was  the  year  when  there  was  not  going 
to  be  any  rain  ;  certain  not  to  be  any  rain  that  year. 
It  was  the  year  when  the  farmers  would  not  make 
any  corn.  It  was  the  year  when  the  wheat  was  all 
going  to  rust.  It  was  the  year — you  could  see  the 
signs  now — when  the  boll  weevil  was  going  to  get 
all  the  cotton.  I  have  heard  him  talk  like  that  for 
years  and  years.  And  every  such  word  was  to  the 
dishonor  of  God.  There  is  your  man  playing  the 
act  of  Elisha's  nameless  servant,  and  saying, 
"Master,  we  are  done  for.  We  have  at  last  come 
to  the  bottom  of  the  ditch.  '^     He  is  leaving  God  out 


176     THE  CONQUERING  HOSTS  OF  GOD 

The  man  who  applies  that  principle  in  Christian  life 
and  work  is  Elisha's  servant  over  again.  Whenever 
a  man  knows  his  duty  he  is  to  do  that  duty.  He  is 
unhesitatingly  to  do  that  duty,  and  God  will  take 
care  of  the  results.  I  saw  a  man  join  the  church 
once  in  another  city.  He  was  converted  graciously, 
and  he  was  a  magnificent  man,  but  he  said  :  ''I  can- 
not join  the  church  here.  If  I  join  a  church,  I  must 
move  somewhere  else.  I  cannot  join  here."  And 
why  sach  a  conclusion,  he  was  asked.  And  then  he 
narrated  the  story  of  a  dif&culty  between  him  and  a 
man  in  the  church.  Their  difficulty  was  supposed 
to  be  serious,  very  serious.  Who  was  to  blame,  I 
do  not  know,  nor  care — perhaps  both  were  to  blame. 
He  said  :  * '  The  years — many  of  them — have  gone 
since  the  difficulty,  and  we  have  never  looked  into 
each  other's  faces,  and  we  have  never  presumed  to 
speak  to  each  other.  I  wish  I  could  be  in  the 
church,  but  it  is  unthinkable  that  I  should,  under 
the  circumstances,  offer  to  join  this  church  and  ex- 
pect to  be  received."  I  could  easily  meet  that  argu- 
ment, and  did  so  with  the  doctrine  of  individual  re- 
sponsibility to  God.  He  said:  ^'Well,  what  might 
happen  if  I  offered  to  join  the  church?"  I  said: 
**That  is  not  your  lookout.  That  is  God's  lookout. 
Your  business  is  to  do  your  duty,  to  walk  down  the 
aisle  like  a  man  for  God,  with  the  inflexible  purpose 
to  obey  God  and  leave  all  the  results  with  Him. " 
At  the  very  next  service  he  stood  up  and  said :  "I 
have  made  my  surrender  to  God.  Men  and  breth- 
ren, I  wish  to  be  with  you  in  the  church  ;  if  you  feel 
willing,  I  would  be  glad  to  have  a  place  with  you." 
The  first  man  to  get  his  hand  was  the  man  who  had 


THE  CONQUERING  HOSTS  OF  GOD     177 

not  spoken  to  him  in  a  dozen  years,  and  in  one  min- 
ute the  family  feud  was  at  an  end.  We  see  specters 
and  hobgoblins  and  all  sorts  of  difficulties  when  we 
do  not  see  God  ;  but,  my  brethren, when  we  just  admit 
God  upon  the  premises,  then  our  difficulties  vanish 
like  the  clouds  before  the  all-glorious  «uu.  God  for- 
give our  unbelief!  How  it  hinders  His  work,  and 
how  we  let  our  fears,  like  those  ten  spies  in  Joshua's 
time,  paralyze  our  faith  and  our  powers. 

There  is  another  lesson  in  the  text  I  would  briefly 
mention.  There  was  one  man  here  who  was  true  and 
who  saw  God.  The  true  servant  of  God  always  sees 
Him.  Elisha  was  the  true  servant  of  God,  and  he 
saw  God.  Oh  !  isn't  it  sublime  how  Elisha  behaved 
himself  when  the  servant  said;  "This  city  is 
surrounded  by  armed  men.  We  are  at  our  wit's 
end!"  "What  do  I  care  for  the  armed  men?" 
replies  the  prophet.  * '  God  is  my  refuge  and  strength, 
an  ever  present  help  in  time  of  trouble."  There  was 
God's  man.  He  was  like  his  predecessor,  Elijah,  on 
Carmel's  height,  when  he  and  the  hosts  of  Baal  met 
in  the  one  great  decisive  test  as  to  who  was  the 
true  God.  I  need  not  here  recite  the  familiar  and 
wonderful  story. 

Elisha  is  walking  worthily  in  the  footsteps  of  his 
predecessor.  So  he  says  in  effect  to  the  young  man, 
"Why,  young  man,  how  much  do  you  count  God  for — 
God's  interest  in  His  children,  and  in  His  cause,  and 
in  His  chosen  people  over  whom  He  watches  more 
tenderly  than  a  mother  watches  over  her  children  ? 
Young  man,  how  much  do  you  count  Him  for  ?  " 
Isn't  it  a  thrilling  spectacle — the  spectacle  of  a  man 
who  believes  God  and  ever  strives  just  to  do  His 


178     THE  CONQUEEING  HOSTS  OF  GOD 

V  wilH  See  Abraham.  God  said  :  "  Go,  Abraham." 
^^  Where?"  ''Never  mind;  go."  And  Abraham 
went  out,  not  knowing  whither  he  went,  perfectly 
peaceful,  perfectly  satisfied.  ''  I  have  the  mandate 
of  heaven's  King  behind  me  and  it  is  all  right.  I 
am  going  through  an  untrodden  wilderness,  but  it  is 
all  right.  I  know  not  where  I  shall  land,  I  know  not 
the  outcome,  but  it  is  all  right."  When  God  said: 
*' Offer  Isaac  on  the  altar,"  it  was  all  right.  It  was 
all  right  because  the  chief  factor  in  his  life  was  God. 

J  See  Nehemiah.     He  was  a  serious  patriot,  a  true 

reformer,  a  genuine  man.  He  is  to  rebuild  the 
walls  of  Jerusalem,  but  he  is  an  exile.  With  no 
resources  but  his  faith  in  God,  he  goes  to  his  great 
task.  Though  laughed  at,  sneered  at,  joked  about, 
on  and  on  he  goes.  He  tells  us  why  ;  ''  The  God  of 
heaven.  He  shall  prosper  this  work  that  I  am  trying 
to  do."  So  it  always  goes  with  the  man  who  just 
believes  and  obeys  God.  O  brethren,  if  only  our 
eyes  were  opened  what  might  we  not  see  !  That  re- 
markable Sunday-school  worker,  who  passed  to  heaven 
a  little  while  ago.  Dr.  H.  Clay  Trumbull,  tells  in 
one  of  his  books  of  this  scene  that  occurred  a  few 
years  ago  :  A  ship  was  coming  back  from  the  other 
side  of  the  sea,  and  on  it  were  a  great  many  people, 
and  one  day  the  passengers  sang  that  glorious  song  : 
''Jesus,  Lover  of  My  Soul."  As  they  sang  it,  one 
of  the  singers  was  strangely  attracted  by  a  voice  just 
behind  him,  and  he  looked  around  and  searched  the 
face  of  the  singer.  When  the  song  was  finished  the 
stranger  introduced  himself  to  the  one  whose  voice  so 
strikingly  arrested  his  attention,  and  said  :  "Were 
you  in  the  Civil  War  in  the  sixties ?  "     He  said  :   "I 


THE  CONQUEEING  HOSTS  OF  GOD     179 

was  ;  I  was  a  Confederate  soldier."  **  I  thought  you 
were,'^  replied  the  first  5  ^4t  all  comes  back  to  me  ; 
you  were  one  night  on  picket  duty  and  hummed  the 
song  we  have  just  sung.  I  was  a  Union  soldier,  in 
command  of  a  squad  of  men.  That  night  we  heard 
you  sing  this  same  song.  Tenderly  you  sang  the 
words : 

"  'AH  my  trust  on  Thee  is  stayed; 
All  my  help  from  Thee  I  bring ; 
Cover  my  defenseless  head 
With  the  shadow  of  Thy  wing ! ' 

We  had  our  guns  leveled  on  you,  but  when  you  came 
to  those  words  I  said  :  '  Boys,  we  must  not  shoot 
such  a  man  as  that ! '  "  And  now,  after  those  many 
years,  they  thus  met.  How  do  you  explain  that 
deliverance  ?  God  touched  the  hearts  of  those  Union 
soldiers  and  held  back  their  will  and  their  bullets 
from  this  poor  man's  head.  It  is  no  wonder  that  the 
soldier  from  the  South  and  from  the  North  there  on 
the  ship  went  into  each  other's  arms  and  blessed 
God  for  the  overruling  providence  of  the  One  who 
never  slumbers  nor  sleeps,  and  who  never  forgets  to 
care  for  His  own.  Oh  !  if  men  would  be  wise  in 
their  relations  to  God !  If  He  be  left  out  of  their 
plans,  then  are  they  doomed. 

An  eminent  Texas  lawyer  told  me  recently  an 
incident  confirmatory  of  the  very  lesson  I  am  now 
mentioning.  Twenty-five  years  ago  when  this  lawyer 
came  to  make  his  home  in  the  city  where  he  yet 
resides,  he  and  the  richest  man  in  the  city  saw  a 
great  deal  of  each  other.  The  rich  man  disregarded 
God  :  he  caroused,  he  revelled,  he  went  to  the  bad. 


180     THE  CONQUEEING  HOSTS  OF  GOD 

He  lived  only  for  this  world.  The  Christian  lawyei 
said  :  ^'  One  evening  I  was  going  up  the  street  to  the 
church  to  prayer- meeting,  and  I  met  this  man,  and 
he  said  :  '  Where  are  you  going  ?  ^  calling  me  by 
name.  I  said  :  ^  I  am  going  to  prayer-meeting.  You 
had  better  go  with  me.'  He  said  :  '  Prayer-meeting, 
and  you  a  practical  lawyer  !  You  ought  to  have 
more  sense  than  that.  Yoq  will  not  get  any  cases  at 
that  rate.  Nobody  will  want  you  for  their  lawyer. 
People  don't  want  prayer -meeting  men  for  lawyers. 
You  had  better  come  with  me  and  go  to  the  dram 
shop  and  let  us  have  a  good  time  together.'  "  Said 
the  lawyer  :  '^  I  made  an  earnest  plea  that  the  end  of 
that  way  was  death.  He  laughed  me  to  scorn.  But 
only  a  few  years  passed,  only  a  few,  until  all  his 
property  was  gone,  the  property  of  that  God-forget= 
ting  man.  All  his  property  was  gone,  and  his  house- 
hold wrecked  and  his  prospects  blasted,  and  he  died 
a  pauper  and  was  buried  by  the  county. "  O  men, 
my  brothers,  there  is  a  vital  difference  between  God's 
man  and  the  man  not  His. 

I  have  spoken  long  enough.  You  will  indulge  me 
another  word.  Our  constant  danger  is  that  we  shall 
look  too  largely  at  material  things.  We  must  see  Him 
who  is  invisible,  and  trust  in  Him  and  in  His  love.  We 
are  at  times  greatly  cast  down.  We  must  look  up, 
That  is  our  hope.  The  text  is  true.  They  that  be 
for  us  are  infinitely  more  than  they  that  be  against  us. 
Sometimes  we  see  justice  perverted.  Sometimes  we 
see  the  ends  of  righteousness  caricatured.  Sometimes 
court-house  trials  are  a  contemptible  farce.  Some- 
times the  saddest  spectacles  of  the  miscarriage  of  law 
openly  and  defiantly  blaze  in  a  city's  life.    You  will  be 


THE  CONQUERING  HOSTS  OF  GOD     181 

cast  down  by  mauy  things  if  you  take  short  views  and 
look  merely  at  earthly  things.  God  reigns  and  cares 
and  loves.  They  that  be  for  us  are  infinitely  more  than 
they  that  be  against  us.  Look  up,  my  brethren,  look 
up.  And  at  the  last,  know  that  the  day  does  come 
when  every  weapon  against  God  shall  be  ground  to 
the  finest  powder.  Job's  question  is  the  question 
that  sounds  through  the  ages  :  *^  Who  hath  hardened 
himself  against  Him  and  hath  prospered  ?  "  Never 
one.  The  prosperity  may  seem  to  be  there,  but  it  is 
only  the  crackling  of  the  dry  thorns  consumed  by  the 
fire.  There  is  no  prosperity  for  a  living  creature  that 
lives  in  permanent  defiance  of  the  Will  and  Word  of 
Almighty  God.  At  the  end  of  such  defiance  there 
are  the  ashes  of  remorse  and  the  doom  of  death. 
Men  and  women  who  hear  me  to-day,  what  are  your 
real  relations  to  God?  Have  you  made  peace  with 
Him  ?  Are  you  right  with  Him  ?  Do  you  see  God, 
as  did  Elisha?  Do  you  reckon  upon  His  infinite 
power  I  Are  you  in  harmony  with  His  will  ?  Is 
your  vision  of  eternal  things  keen  and  clear*?  Do 
you  walk  by  faith  and  not  by  sight!  Are  God's  pur- 
poses real  and  are  His  promises  personal  to  you  ?  In 
the  secrecy  and  deepest  sincerity  of  your  souls,  I  pray 
you  to-day,  each  one  for  himself,  to  lay  these  ques- 
tions to  heart.     Do  take  time  to  realize  God. 


XI 

The  Supreme  Gift  to  Jesus 

AS  we  come  to  this  first  Lord's  Day  of  theN'ew 
Year,  the  one  sentence  that  has  kept  ringing 
in  my  heart  as  a  suitable  word  for  us  to-day 
is  the  oft  quoted  saying  of  Paul  concerning  the 
Macedonian  Christians,  namely  : 

^'But  first  they  gave  their  own  selves  to  the 
Lord."— 2  OoE.  viii.  5. 

Paul  is  here  praising  the  early  Macedonian  Chris- 
tians in  words  remarkably  gracious  and  heartening, 
as  you  observed  while  you  listened  to  the  Scriptural 
reading,  a  moment  ago,  from  the  eighth  chapter  of 
Second  Corinthians.  Praise  from  Paul  was  certainly 
noteworthy.  He  was  no  fulsome  flatterer.  He  spoke 
words  straight  and  direct  and  true.  When  men 
needed  rebuking,  Paul  was  just  the  man  to  give  such 
rebuke.  And  now,  when  he  finds  an  unusual  case  of 
devotion  to  Christ,  and  of  sacrifice  for  Christ,  and  of 
glorious  witnessing  to  the  power  of  the  grace  of 
Christ,  Paul  sets  it  forth  in  this  chapter  in  words  that 
fairly  breathe  with  beauty  and  blessing. 

These  early  Macedonian  Christians,  though  sorely 
afflicted  themselves,  with  their  means  of  living  piti- 
fully reduced,  yet  out  of  their  affliction  and  poverty 
got  together  an  offering  for  some  needy  people  far 
away.     Though  themselves  in  dire  distress,  yet  with 

182 


THE  SUPREME  GIFT  TO  JESUS         183 

all  the  good  will  of  the  givers,  and  with  a  prayer  for 
God's  favor  upon  their  united  gifts,  they  sent  their 
offerings,  voluntarily  and  joyfully,  to  far-away  people 
who  were  in  need.  Paul  makes  a  telling  discourse 
upon  such  an  unusual  deed,  and  pays  his  tribute  to  it 
in  a  way  that  makes  life  loom  larger  and  the  possibil- 
ities of  human  nature  seem  grander  as  we  read  his 
tribute.  But  the  point  of  his  praise  is  what  we  need 
to  see  clearly  to-day  ;  and  that  is  that  no  man  can 
please  Christ  and  do  His  will  as  He  wishes  until  the 
supreme  thing  is  done  toward  Christ  and  for  Him, 
namely,  until  life  itself  is  unreservedly  laid  on  the 
altar  for  Him.  When  one's  life  is  fully  laid  on  the 
altar  for  Christ,  all  else  in  service  for  Him  is  easy 
and  natural  and  blessed,  because  the  greater  in- 
cludes the  less.  Just  as  long  as  a  Christian  proposes 
to  serve  God  with  little  driblets  of  money  and  time 
and  service,  the  Christian  life  is  vitiated  and  stunted 
and  misrepresented.  But  when  a  Christian  faithfully 
apprehends  the  truth  that  the  Christian  life  calls  for 
the  actual  giving  of  life  unto  Him  who  gave  His  life 
for  us,  then  a  thousand  smaller  questions  are  settled 
in  one  moment,  and  settled  once  for  all. 

There  are  two  simple  but  practically  vital  truths 
that  may  be  seen  in  this  story  of  the  Macedonian 
Christians,  whose  conduct  called  forth  such  positive 
praise  from  Paul. 

First  of  all,  these  early  Christians  put  the  cause  of  fX 
Christ  as  the  first  thing  in  their  lives.  Wasn't  that 
altogether  praiseworthy  and  consistent  and  necessary? 
Where  should  Christ's  cause  be  put  ?  I  am  speaking 
this  morning  to  an  army  of  Christian  men  and  women, 
and  upon  you,  one  by  one,  I  would  press  the  ques- 


184         THE  SUPEEMB  GIFT  TO  JESUS 

tion,  even  as  with  a  sword  point,  upon  the  deepest 
conscience.  Where  should  Christ's  cause  be  put  by 
the  Mends  of  Christ  ?  These  early  Christians  clearly 
put  it  as  the  first  thing  in  their  lives.  Untold  mis- 
chief comes  to  Christian  men  and  women,  and  to  the 
vital  cause  that  they  represent,  when  they  higgle 
and  haggle  and  fail  to  put  Christ's  cause  as  the  first 
thing  in  their  lives,  making  it  the  center  and  heart  of 
their  thought  and  activity. 

The  most  superficial  views  are  often  taken  by 
Christians  concerning  the  Christian  life.  It  is  some- 
times vainly  thought  that  if  we  can  add  largely  to 
our  numbers,  then  are  we  indeed  making  progress. 
It  does  not  necessarily  follow  that,  an  army  is  making 
progress  because  it  keeps  adding  soldiers  to  the 
ranks.  The  Bible  never  one  time  gives  any  such 
hint  that  an  increase  in  numbers  is  the  way  of 
progress  in  the  Christian  warfare.  The  Bible 
never  once  gives  any  encouragement  to  the  doc- 
trine that  we  shall  be  strong  according  to  our 
numbers.  Indeed,  we  are  warned  again  and  again, 
by  warnings  direct  and  implied,  as  to  the  snare  that 
there  is  in  numbers.  There  stands  out  like  some 
dark  cloud  the  old  story  of  David's  numbering  the 
kingdoms  of  Israel  and  Judah,  to  warn  God's  people 
forever  that  they  must  not  put  their  confidence  in 
numbers.  Never  once  does  God  put  the  emphasis 
on  numbers.  Eead  the  story  of  Gideon's  vast  army 
reduced  to  three  hundred  men,  and  see  how  God 
utterly  discounts  numbers.  Often  it  is  given  us  to 
see  how  God  signalizes  the  mighty  victories  that  may 
be  obtained  by  handfuls,  consecrated  and  definitely 
committed  to  His  program.     It  is  not  "How  many 


THE  SUPEEME  GIFT  TO  JESUS         185 

do  we  count  in  the  kingdom  of  God?"  but  "How 
much  do  we  weigh  ? "  It  is  not  quantity  in  the 
kingdom  of  God  that  counts,  but  it  is  quality.  You 
can  sometimes  put  your  hand  on  one  man  in  a 
community  who  seems  to  have  the  power  of  a  thou- 
sand ordinary  Christian  men.  His  very  nod  is 
empire  j  his  very  footfall  law  ;  the  very  crook  of  his 
fiuger  is  power.  The  explanation  is  that  he  lives 
his  religion.  It  is  not  duration  that  counts  in 
human  life,  but  intensity.  Some  men  die  at  thirty 
and  have  done  more  for  humanity  than  others  dying 
at  one  hundred  and  thirty.  The  first  mentioned  live 
while  they  live,  with  the  one  motive  of  doing  the  will 
of  God. 

Again,  it  is  manifest  that  men  sometimes  have  the 
mistaken  conception  that  if  they  had  more  money 
they  could  forward  Christ's  cause  in  a  victorious  way. 
They  were  never  more  mistaken.  Never  one  time  is 
the  emphasis  in  the  Bible  put  upon  material,  visible 
resources.  To  be  sure,  I  have  no  sympathy  at  all 
with  the  anarchistic  outcry  that  is  sometimes  heard 
against  money.  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  men 
who  can  make  money  ought  to  make  it — legitimately 
to  be  sure — for  all  illegitimately  gained  money  is  a 
curse  to  him  who  gains  it.  Men  who  have  gifts  in  the 
world  of  business,  commanding  gifts,  strategic  gifts, 
who  can  amass  money  legitimately  and  properly, 
ought  to  do  so  ;  but  money  in  the  kingdom  of  God  is 
not  the  supreme  thing  at  all.  The  early  disciples  of 
Jesus  were  without  money,  and  yet  they  shook  the 
Eoman  empire  to  its  foundations  with  their  spiritual 
power.  They  did  not  have  vast  bank  accounts,  and 
yet  the  pagan  empire  was  shot  through  with  gleams 


186        THE  SUPEEME  GIFT  TO  JESUS 

of  heavenly  light  in  one  short  generation.  Money 
is  not  the  supreme  thing  in  the  kingdom  of  God. 
Full  many  a  time  it  is  a  terrible  handicap,  a  perilous 
hindrance.  Full  many  a  time  men  turn  to  it  instead 
of  to  the  arm  invisible  and  almighty.  To  the  degree 
that  men  put  their  confidence  in  human,  visible, 
material  resources,  to  that  degree  are  they  weak  and 
iiot  strong  at  all. 

What  then  is  the  supreme  thing  to  be  laid  to  heart 
tn  the  kingdom  of  God  1  It  is  pointed  out  here  for 
us  by  these  Macedonian  Christians.  It  is  to  put 
Christ's  cause  as  the  first  thing  in  our  thinking  and 
doing,  literally  to  put  it  first,  and  to  build  around  it 
as  the  center  of  all  our  thought  and  all  our  activity. 
These  early  Christians,  by  the  glorious  example  de- 
scribed here  for  us  by  Paul,  point  the  way  for  us,  if 
we  would  make  the  Christian  life  a  thing  of  ever- 
growing happiness  and  ever-increasing  triumph  over 
the  world  about  us.  How  all  things  would  be 
changed  about  us  if  we  would  put  First  things  First ! 

Now,  Christ's  cause  is  to  be  put  first  by  Christians 
— not  off  in  a  corner,  treated  as  some  little  stepchild, 
unloved  and  in  the  way.  Christ's  cause  is  to  be  put 
first  everywhere,  and  forever  to  be  put  first.  That  is 
the  need  of  the  world  to-day.  The  one  constant  tug 
at  my  heart  concerning  this  Pan -European  war  is 
that  it  will  blazon  forth  the  truth  before  all  the 
nations  that  the  one  kingdom  that  is  to  have  supreme 
attention  at  the  hands  of  humanity,  because  it  is  the 
one  hope  of  humanity,  is  the  kingdom  of  Christ. 
The  only  kingdom  that  shall  last,  the  one  kingdom 
that  shall  ultimately  break  to  pieces  every  other 
kingdom,  the  one  kingdom  whose  right  it  is  to  have 


THE  SUPEEME  GIFT  TO  JESUS         18'* 

undisputed  sway  in  all  the  earth,  is  Christ^  s  kingdom, 
and  Christ's  friends  should  always  and  everywhere 
put  His  kingdom  first.  That  is  the  outstanding  need 
of  the  world  to-day.  "Seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of 
God  and  His  righteousness."  Seek  it  first — not  sec- 
ondly, nor  thirdly,  nor  subordinately,  nor  optionally, 
nor  incidentally.  "  Put  My  cause  first ''  is  ever  the 
call  of  Jesus  to  His  people.  Put  it  first  when  you  go 
to  the  bank.  Put  it  first  when  you  stand  before 
court  and  jury.  Put  it  first  when  you  go  from 
house  to  house  ministering  to  the  sick.  Put  it  first 
when  you  stand  in  the  high  place  of  the  teacher. 
Put  it  first  in  the  pulpit.  Put  it  first  in  the  market- 
place. Put  it  first  in  the  real  m  of  government.  ' '  Put 
My  kingdom.  My  cause,  My  will,  first,"  is  forever 
His  call.  One  is  King  and  Lawgiver  for  humanity, 
and  that  is  Christ.  Christians  are  to  hear  this 
call,  and  act  on  it,  and  live  it,  and  relate  all  life 
to  it.  That  is  what  the  world  supremely  needs.  It 
is  not  fine  church  houses  ;  it  is  not  buildings  marked 
with  marvelous  architecture ;  it  is  not  delicately 
stained  glass  windows  ;  it  is  not  eloquent  preachers  ; 
it  is  not  vast  piles  of  money  ;  it  is  not  large  numbers. 
Its  need  is  for  men  and  women  who  are  themselves 
separated  unto  Christ  and  whose  dominant  concern 
is  to  put  His  will  first.  Such  men  and  women  are  to 
be  the  salt  of  the  earth,  to  put  their  healing  touch  on 
the  whole  mass  of  needy  and  unredeemed  humanity. 
That  is  the  world's  first  need — to  put  Christ  first. 

Paul  stated  it  for  us  when  he  said  :  "  To  me  to  live 
is  Christ ;  "  or,  freely  translated,  "To  me  to  live  is 
for  Christ  to  live  over  again."  Said  Paul  :  "  I  am 
t»  think  His  thoughts,  and  to  talk  His  talk,  and  to 


188         THE  SUPEEME  GIFT  TO  JESUS 

do  His  deeds  as  best  I  can,  and  to  live  His  life,  and 
to  offer  myself  as  did  He  for  humanity."  That  is 
the  business  of  a  Christian  in  this  world.  What 
other  business  could  a  Christian  have?  After  I  am 
redeemed  from  the  curse  of  the  law,  by  Jesus,  who 
died  for  me,  the  Just  for  the  unjust,  the  Sinless  for 
the  sinner,  I  am  left  for  a  little  while  in  the  earth  to 
reincarnate  the  spirit,  the  teaching,  the  life,  of  Jesus, 
and  I  am  to  put  Him  first.  So  that,  when  Paul 
said:  *'  Ye  are  not  your  own  ;  ye  are  bought  with  a 
price.  Therefore,  glorify  God  in  your  body  and  in 
your  spirit,  which  are  His,"  he  was  just  stating  the 
simplest,  plainest,  fairest  truth  that  can  be  put  into 
human  words.  You  Christian  men  and  womeu  liter- 
ally belong  to  Christ.  I  charge  you  therefore  to  put 
His  cause  where  it  ought  to  be.  Let  His  will  be 
regnant  in  all  human  life  just  as  it  ought  to  be. 
Then  even  this  earthly  life  is,  indeed,  a  thing  of  sur- 
passing glory. 

You  will  observe  that  these  early  Macedonian 
Christians,  in  all  their  various  callings,  thus  en- 
throned Christ's  will  and  made  it  regnant  in  all  their 
daily  temporal  affairs.  The  religion  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  is  not  simply  a  showy  business  for  Sun- 
day. If  you  are  going  to  make  any  choice,  and  put 
your  best  foot  forward  at  some  particular  time,  in 
Christian  living,  do  it  yonder  in  the  market-place, 
rather  than  here  when  you  are  singing  some  beauti- 
ful hymn.  Do  it  in  the  home,  where  the  nervous, 
impatient  child  is  taxing  you  to  the  limit.  Live  for 
Christ  out  there,  where  you  closely  touch  humanity, 
where  all  the  sharp  currents  of  life  clash.  There  put 
the  will  of  Christ  first.     These  early  Christians  in 


THE  SUPEEME  GIFT  TO  JESUS         189 

all  their  daily  avocations  put  Christ's  cause  first. 
Oh,  isn't  that  what  we  need,  what  we  supremely 
need  ?  We  are  going  to  get  on  miserably  if  a  man 
is  a  schemer  and  a  cheat  yonder  in  his  business,  and 
a  pious,  long-faced  saint  here  in  church.  We  are 
going  to  get  on  badly  if  the  teacher  forgets,  and  is  a 
nervous  scold  in  the  schoolhouse,  where  plastic  life 
is  being  touched  and  shaped  by  her  every  minute. 
What  the  world  needs  is  for  this  leaven  of  Christian- 
ity to  be  incarnated  in  our  lives,  as  we  touch  human- 
ity the  six  busy  days  in  the  week,  as  well  as  on  the 
Lord's  Day.  The  grocery  man  ought  to  be  better, 
and  the  laundry  man,  and  the  messenger  boy,  and 
the  butcher,  and  the  telegraph  boy,  and  the  doctor, 
and  all  the  rest,  because  you  and  I  cross  their  paths, 
and  look  into  their  faces,  and  greet  them  for  a  mo- 
ment in  life's  daily  battle.  Our  Christianity  is  to  be 
radiant  out  there  in  the  midst  of  the  seething  humanity 
which  is  dying  without  God,  It  was  so  with  these 
early  Christians,  because  they  put  Christ's  cause  first. 
What  a  glorious  day  that  will  be — may  God  speed 
its  full  triumph  ! — when  in  all  callings  and  among 
all  classes  and  conditions  of  humanity  shall  be  real- 
ized that  noble  injunction  of  Paul:  ''Whether  ye 
eat  or  drink,  or  whatsoever  ye  do,  do  all  to  the  glory 
of  God."  I  can  see  how  the  modest  teacher,  just  as 
truly  as  any  prophet  in  his  pulpit,  can  glorify  God 
at  her  far- reaching  task.  I  can  see  how  the  lawyer, 
standing  before  court  and  jury,  can  mightily  glorify 
God,  as  he  pleads  for  the  fundamental  principles  of 
righteousness  and  justice  and  mercy.  I  can  see  how 
the  financier,  and  the  struggling  girl  with  her  type- 
writer, and  the  needlewoman,  the  farmer,  the  man 


190        THE  SUPREME  GIFT  TO  JESUS 

driving  the  dray — humanity  in  all  its  phases  and  at 
all  its  tasks  out  there  in  the  big  battle  of  life — can  glo- 
rify God  as  really  as  did  Paul,  if  each  one  will  simply 
put  Christ's  cause  where  the  Macedonian  Christians 
put  it — put  it  first. 

Isn't  it  a  glorious  thing  that  we  have  the  examples 
in  this  dear  country  of  ours  of  many  of  our  clearest- 
minded  and  most  influential  men  who  put  Christ 
first  *?  Whatever  may  be  your  politics,  that  does  not 
concern  me  at  all ;  that  never  concerns  the  pulpit. 
The  preacher  is  as  much  concerned  for  the  souls  of 
men  who  follow  one  political  party  as  another.  But 
whatever  may  be  your  politics,  you  must  be  pro- 
foundly grateful  for  Woodrow  Wilson,  that  modest 
but  mighty  Christian  man  at  the  helm  of  this  nation  ; 
and  you  must  be  likewise  grateful  for  the  Secretary 
of  State,  Mr.  Bryan  ;  and  you  must  be  deeply  grate- 
ful for  that  masterful  leader  yonder  in  Great  Britain, 
Lloyd  George — grateful  that  these  personalities, 
world-touching  personalities,  bow  down  like  little 
children,  daily  asking  for  wisdom  and  strength  from 
God  for  their  tasks.  The  gracious  influence  of  such 
men  for  Christianity  is  literally  beyond  human  com- 
putation. And  here  in  your  own  modest  circles  of 
life  there  are  men  in  this  task,  and  women  in  that, 
who  are  incarnating  the  ideals  of  Jesus,  and  are  put- 
ting His  cause  first,  and  they  in  their  sphere,  as  well 
as  these  mighty  ones  mentioned  in  their  sphere,  are 
positively  and  constantly  blessing  humanity.  God 
speed  the  day  when  Christians,  when  you  and  I  here 
in  this  meeting-house  this  first  Lord's  Day  morning 
of  the  New  Year,  shall  understand  that  what  Christ 
waits  for  and  asks  at  our  hands  is  that  we  will  do 


THE  SUPREME  GIFT  TO  JESUS         191 

in  life  what  we  are  here  to  do  I  That  we  will  have 
the  right  sense  of  our  vocation  !  And  that  we  will 
relate  ourselves  to  the  one  embracing  task  that  we 
are  in  the  world  for,  here  in  the  little  vestibule  of 
time  preceding  eternity,  to  put  Christ's  cause  first, 
and  then  pass  from  time  to  be  with  Him  in  the  larger 
House  of  Life,  where  all  the  conditiojis  of  life  are 
perfect  forevermore ! 

There  is  another  vital  truth  to  be  emphasized,  and 
that  is  that  the  secret  of  such  wonderful  devotion  on 
the  part  of  these  Macedonian  Christians  is  explained 
in  the  very  words  of  the  brief  text :  ' '  But  first  they 
gave  their  own  selves  to  the  Lord."  As  certainly 
as  we  are  here,  my  brothers,  the  crux  of  the  whole 
matter  of  living  the  Christian  life  is  stated  here  in 
this  sentence  :  ' '  But  first  they  gave  their  own  selves 
to  the  Lord."  You  have  a  thousand  questions 
settled  when  this  one  big  question  is  settled :  I  am 
here  to  go  where,  and  to  speak  what,  and  to  live  as, 
Christ  wishes,  and  to  that  I  dedicate  my  life.  When 
that  is  done,  the  many  questions  of  life  all  adjust 
themselves  into  harmonious  concord  with  the  one 
consuming  purpose  of  life. 

Note  carefully  the  words:  "But  first  they  gave 
their  own  selves  to  the  Lord."  They  gave  them- 
selves. It  is  just  at  that  point  that  we  most  sadly 
fail  as  Christians.  We  propose  to  give  Jesus  little 
compartments  in  our  lives,  and  then  desire  Him  to 
leave  us  to  ourselves  with  the  larger  compartments. 
Oh,  that  is  the  tragedy  of  our  Christianity  !  These 
early  Christians  just  did  what  a  Christian  is  in  the 
world  for,  what  you  and  I  are  here  for — namely,  to 
do  Christ's  will,  to  represent  Christy  to  be  His  wit- 


192        THE  SXJPEEME  GIFT  TO  JESUS 

ness,  to  be  His  friend,  to  carry  forward  His  kiDgdom, 
to  make  victorious  His  will  everywhere.  If  we  can 
carry  out  His  will  by  ill  health  better  than  by  good 
health,  let  ill  health  come  !  If  we  can  do  it  better 
by  poverty  than  by  riches,  let  us  have  poverty  !  If 
we  can  do  it  better  to  be  persecuted  and  hunted  and 
sent  to  our  graves  misunderstood.  Lord,  let  it  be  that 
way !  Thy  will  be  enthroned  and  made  victorious 
through  us,  come  as  it  will,  cost  what  it  may  !  It  is 
not  a  theory  that  you  and  I  are  inescapably  respon- 
sible for  the  doing  of  the  will  of  God.  That  is  the 
preeminent  fact  of  life. 

I  have  told  you  before  of  scenes  I  have  witnessed 
and  lessons  I  have  learned  in  connection  with  the 
camp-meetings  I  have  attended  with  the  cattlemen, 
here  and  there,  in  the  great  West.  It  is  one  of  the 
most  refreshing  joys  of  my  life  thus  to  be  with  them. 
They  are  heroes  and  empire  builders.  One  morning 
I  preached  to  that  great  group  of  cattlemen,  gathered 
in  a  cleft  of  the  mountains,  perhaps  a  thousand  men, 
on  this  searching  text :  ^'  Ye  are  bought  with  a  price  ; 
therefore,  glorify  God  in  your  body,  and  in  your 
spirit,  which  are  God's."  And  that  morning  I  was 
making  the  insistence  that  Christ  should  be  the 
absolute  Master  of  life,  just  as  I  am  making  it  this 
morning.  When  the  service  was  done,  one  of  those 
cattlemen  locked  his  arm  in  mine  and  said  :  * '  If  you 
are  willing,  we  will  go  for  a  walk.  I  have  something 
to  say  to  you. "  And  up  the  long  mountain  canyon 
we  took  our  walk,  more  than  a  mile  away  from  the 
many  camps.  He  said  not  a  word  as  we  were  going 
His  great  chest  rose  and  fell  like  some  seething 
furnace.     It  was   evident   that   he  had  something 


THE  SUPEEME  GIFT  TO  JESUS         193 

serious  to  say,  and  I  waited  for  him  to  break  the 
silence.  When  we  were  more  than  a  mile  away,  he 
turned  and  faced  me,  and  with  gasping  words  he 
said  :  "I  want  you  to  pray  a  dedicatory  prayer  for 
me/^  I  said:  *'What  do  you  wish  to  dedicate?'^ 
And  then  he  said,  with  sobs  :  **I  never  knew  until 
to-day  that  I  am  responsible  for  my  very  property  to 
Jesus  J  I  have  not  been  a  Christian  long,  and  I  have 
not  heard  much  about  Him,  and  I  do  not  know  much 
about  what  He  expects  of  me.  I  never  knew  until 
you  i)reached  to-day  that  all  these  thousands  of  cat- 
tle, every  hoof  of  them,  that  I  have  said  were  mine, 
are  not  really  mine,  but  that  they  belong  to  Christ, 
and  that  I  am  simply  His  administrator,  His  trustee, 
His  steward.  Never  until  to-day  did  I  know  that. 
And  I  never  knew  until  to-day  that  these  twenty- 
five  miles  and  more  of  spreading  ranch  lands,  that  I 
have  said  were  mine,  are  not  mine  at  all,  but  His  ; 
that  the  title  to  every  acre  is  in  Him  ;  not  until  to-day 
did  I  know  that.  Now,"  he  said,  "I  want  you  to 
bow  down  here  and  tell  Him  for  me  that  I  will  take 
my  place  ;  I  will  accept  my  stewardship  ;  I  will  be 
His  administrator  on  His  estate.  And  then  when  you 
are  through,  I  wish  to  pray."  Of  course  I  prayed 
the  best  I  could,  the  man  consenting  and  assenting, 
with  sobs  and  words,  as  I  prayed.  And  when  I  had 
finished  and  waited  for  him  to  pray,  he  waited  some 
minutes  before  he  could  speak,  sobbing  like  a  little 
child  ;  and  when,  at  last,  he  did  speak,  he  said  : 
*^  Master,  am  I  not  in  a  position  now  to  give  you  also 
the  loved  one  for  whom  I  have  long  been  praying  ? 
Am  I  not  in  a  position  now  to  give  him  to  you  f 
Along  with  all  else,  I  do  give  him  to  you  ;  save  hina 


194        THE  SUPEEME  GIFT  TO  JESUS 

for  your  glory  ;  I  give  him  to  you  to-day  forever.*' 
We  walked  back  to  the  camp,  and  not  a  word  was 
said  on  the  return  journey.  Then  the  day  wore  to 
evening,  and  the  men  again  came  together  for  wor- 
ship, and  I  stood  before  them  in  that  mountain 
canyon,  once  more  to  preach.  Nor  had  I  preached  a 
dozen  minutes  until  the  wild  young  fellow  on  the 
outskirts  of  the  great  crowd  of  a  thousand  cowmen 
rose  up  and  said  :  ^*  I  cannot  wait  until  that  man  is 
done  his  sermon  to  tell  you  that  I  have  found  the 
Lord  ! "  Do  you  doubt  that  there  was  a  vital  and 
fundamental  connection  between  the  right  relation  of 
that  ranchman  to  Jesus  Christ  and  the  home-coming 
of  him  for  whom  he  prayed  ?  Oh,  there  is  no  telling, 
my  brothers,  how  much  power  a  man  may  have  to 
drive  back  Satan  and  beat  down  the  very  mountains 
of  sin  ;  there  is  no  telling  how  much  helpful  power 
any  man  or  woman  may  have,  would  have,  even  you 
and  I,  if  only  we  will  relate  ourselves  to  the  will  of 
Christ  like  we  ought.  These  early  Christians  did 
that,  and  the  glory  of  God  was  over  them  beyond  all 
words  to  tell. 

You  will  notice  that  they  did  it  voluntarily.  Paul 
said  :  "  They  were  willing  of  themselves. ''  Nobody 
coerced  them.  Nobody  drove  them.  Nobody 
scolded  them.  Nobody  sought  to  wheedle  money 
out  of  them  by  all  sorts  of  vain  pleas.  God  pity  us  ! 
I  have  no  respect  for  that  sort  of  thing  in  religion. 
Here  these  men  came,  and  they  laid  themselves,  their 
very  lives,  on  the  altar,  for  Christ.  When  a  man 
does  that  supreme  thing  for  Christ,  is  there  any 
problem  in  his  giving  ?  Is  there  any  problem  in  his 
giving  money  or  time  or  talk  or  service?    Wheo 


THE  SUPEEME  GIFT  TO  JESUS         195 

the  supreme  thiug  has  been  given  to  Christ,  you  have 
gone  to  the  heart  of  the  Christian  life,  and  then  the 
Christian  life  can  be  made  a  great  sun,  lighting  up 
the  darkness  near  and  far,  and  piloting  many  in  the 
upward  way. 

Here  is  the  test  and  here  is  the  measure  of  our 
power  to  bless  humanity.  I  tell  you,  no  matter  how 
brilliant  a  man  is,  no  matter  how  gifted,  no  matter 
how  generous,  if  he  will  not  put  his  life  into  the 
service  of  Christ,  he  shall  come  short  utterly  of  the 
supreme  thing.  Life  must  be  given  for  life.  Life 
must  make  its  impact  on  life.  Far  more  than  all  the 
checks  you  can  ever  write  is  the  writing  of  yourself 
into  the  right  kind  of  service  for  a  weary,  sinful 
humanity.  Incomparably  better  than  any  check 
that  you  will  ever  lay  on  the  altar  of  Christ  is  for 
you  to  lay  yourself  on  Christ's  altar.  You  have  be- 
wailed the  fact  that  you  did  not  have  the  money  to 
give.  You  forget  that  you  have  something  so  much 
better  than  money.  You  have  bewailed  the  fact  that 
you  lived  from  hand  to  mouth  and  could  not  put  your 
dollars  and  hundreds  on  the  altar  for  Jesus,  as  do 
others  ;  but  you  could  put  something  on  the  altar  for 
Christ  in  comparison  with  which  money  seems  but 
as  a  trifle.  '^I  seek  not  yours,  but  you."  That! 
means  that  Christ  seeks  your  manhood,  your  woman- 
hood, your  personality,  your  individuality,  your 
reputation,  your  character,  your  tongue,  your  brain, 
your  example,  your  very  life.  Humanity  waits  for 
that,  and  the  kingdom  of  God  comes — comes  with 
power,  comes  to  conquer,  when  Christian  men  and 
women  put  themselves,  their  lives,  on  the  altar  for 
their  King  and  Eedeemer. 


196         THE  SUPREME  GIFT  TO  JESUS 

That  is  the  lesson  for  us  to-day.  That  is  the 
supreme  lessou  out  of  this  old  time  story./  O 
preacher,  and  there  are  numbers  here  to-day,  and  be 
assured  that  your  coming  always  makes  us  glad,  you 
and  I  shall  make  pitiful  progress  in  our  exalted  call- 
ing if  we  do  not  die  to  self  and  live  to  Christ !  /  O 
Sunday-school  worker,  you  will  make  slow  progress 
if  you  have  imagined  you  have  discharged  your 
Christian  task  when  you  have  sat  before  your  class 
once  a  week^  for  forty  five  miuutes  or  less,  and  have 
said  a  few  things  about  the  lesson.  There  are  no 
secularities  in  the  right  kind  of  a  Christian  life. 
You  and  I  are  to  put  ourselves  on  Christ's  altar 
twenty-four  hours  a  day,  living  for  Christ,  sleeping 
when  we  sleep  to  His  glory,  serving  or  resting  or  eat- 
ing or  suffering  or  going  or  waiting,  all  for  Chi'ist. 
Whatever  He  wishes,  that  is  the  supreme  lesson  we 
are  to  learn  and  to  ti'anslate  into  daily  deed. 

Have  you  thus  given  yourself  to  Christ  1  O  my 
friends,  what  is  your  spiritual  condition  to-day? 
Are  you  halting  Christians,  derelict  Christians,  duty- 
neglecting  Christians,  backslidden  Christians,  with 
your  years  hurrying  like  the  flying  clouds'?  Are 
you  to  go  on  like  that  until,  some  evening  when  the 
shadows  of  the  night  come  to  shroud  the  world,  you 
come  down  to  sudden  death  and  startle  your  family 
with  the  gasp  :  ^'I  have  lived  with  practically  no 
thought  of  Christ  at  all? ''  O  men  and  women,  the 
one  thing  that  makes  life  really  great  is  that  we  are 
here  for  a  little  season  to  do  the  Father's  will,  just 
like  Jesus  who  came  down  from  heaven,  saying : 
*•  My  meat  is  to  do  the  will  of  Him  that  sent  me,  and 
to  finish  His  work."     Is  that  your  thought  of  life, 


THE  SUPREME  GIFT  TO  JESUS         197 

your  effort  in  life  ?  Are  you  related  to  Christ  to-day 
like  you  ought  to  be?  We  ought  willingly  to  go 
through  fire  and  flood  to  do  anything  Christ  wishes 
at  our  hands,  when  we  remember  what  He  did  and 
does  for  us.  He  gave  His  all  for  me.  Yon  cross  was 
for  me.  That  bloody  sweat  in  Gethsemane,  O  God, 
was  for  me.  That  cry  after  cry,  while  the  world  was 
darkened,  and  the  earth  was  shaking,  and  the  sun 
would  not  shine  on  that  scene  of  scenes,  all  that  was 
for  me.  O  soul,  is  gratitude  dead  within  thee?  O 
man,  hast  thou  lost  all  sense  of  the  eternal  proprieties? 
After  what  Christ  did  for  us,  surely  we  are  ready  to 
go  any  length  for  Him.  Don't  you  say  so  to-day? 
With  all  my  heart  I  would  say  it  for  myself.  If  this 
is  to  be  my  last  year,  O  our  God,  I  would  dedicate 
myself  to  make  it  better  than  any  previous  year,  to 
help  more  people,  to  gladden  and  bless  more  lives,  to 
hearten  souls,  God  helping  me  !  O  men  and  women, 
let  us  put  Christ  first.  Let  us  seek  to  bury  all  our 
pitiful  mistakes,  wanderings  and  defects  in  one  great 
heap  to-day,  and  let  us  say  :  ^'Master,  from  to-day 
Thou  Shalt  be  first  with  me  and  mine  ! "  Oh,  the 
happiness  in  such  a  life  as  that !  Oh,  the  safety  of 
such  a  life  as  that!  Oh,  the  usefulness  of  such  a 
life,  for  that  is  the  life  planted  like  a  tree  by  the 
rivers  of  water,  in  the  glorious  service  of  Christ. 

Are  there  those  here  to-day  who  say  :  ^^  Sir,  we 
never  did  begin  the  Christian  life  at  all  ?  "  Then,  I 
ask,  don't  you  think  it  is  high  time  that  you  awake 
out  of  sleep  ?  The  day  is  far  spent.  Opportunity  is 
passing,  even  now.  Don't  you  think  it  is  time  to-day 
to  be  rightly  related  to  Jesus  ?  We  are  going  to  sing 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  hymns  that  is  ever  sung,  and 


198         THE  SUPEEME  GIFT  TO  JESUS 

while  we  sing  it  I  wonder  if  there  are  not  duty- 
neglecting  Christians  present  who  will  say  :  ^^  With- 
out waiting  to  confer  with  flesh  or  blood,  to-day  I 
renew  my  vows  with  God,  I  do  my  duty  to-day. 
Down  in  my  deepest  conscience  I  hear  a  voice,  a 
clamant  voice,  a  voice  calling  me  to  active  service  in 
Christ's  Church  ;  I  will  obey  to-day."  Come  then  to 
these  front  pews  and  wait.  There  are  others  who 
say  :  "  We  cannot  take  that  step,  we  are  not  ready 
to  go  that  far  ;  but  we  do  wish  to-day  to  take  the 
great  step  of  the  public  commitment  of  ourselves  to 
Christ,  who  alone  forgiveth  and  saveth  sinners.  We 
will  receive  Him  as  our  Saviour  and  yield  our  lives 
to  His  control  this  Lord's  Day  morning,  the  first  of 
the  New  Year,  that  Christ  may  forgive  and  cleanse 
and  save  and  guard  and  guide  and  use  us  from  this 
day  forward  and  forever,  according  to  His  holy  will.'' 
You,  too,  come,  while  now  we  sing,  and  before  all  the 
people  let  the  great  confession  be  made  of  your 
choice  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  your  Saviour  and 
Master  to-day  and  forevermore. 


XII 

The  Subject  and  the  Object  of  the  Gospel 

{Annual  Sermon  preached  before  the  Southern  Baptist  Convention 
at  Louisville,  Ky.,  May  12,  1899.) 

Text :  ^'  TjDto  me,  who  am  less  than  the  least  of 
all  saiuts,  is  this  grace  given,  that  I  should  preach 
among  the  Gentiles  the  unsearchable  riches  of 
Christ." — Ephesians  iii.  8. 

FIEST  and  foremost  of  all  Christ's  servants  in 
the  work  and  triumphs  of  Christianity  stands 
the  Apostle  Paul.  And  yet  the  most  marked 
characteristic  of  his  wondrous  life  was  his  humility. 
If  any  man  might  have  presumed  to  profess  ^'sinless 
perfection, ^^  Paul  was  that  man  ;  but  he  would  have  re- 
garded such  profession  as  an  unspeakable  blasphemy. 
See  how  he  speaks  of  himself :  ' '  Unto  me  who  am  less 
than  the  least  of  all  saints."  A  few  years  before  he 
designates  himself  as  "the  least  of  the  apostles.^' 
And  just  a  few  years  later  he  confesses  that  he  is  the 
"  chief  of  sinners.'*  As  he  grew  in  the  experimental 
knowledge  of  God's  grace,  he  also  grew  in  humility 
and  self-distrust  Humility  always  obtains  in  pro- 
portion as  men  see  the  goodness  and  greatness  of  God. 
It  was  so  with  Job  and  Jeremiah,  and  Isaiah.  It  is 
ever  so.  These  men  who  do  not  know  whether  Christ 
is  much,  are  certain  to  think  themselves  much.  Those 
whom  God  greatly  honors  in  service  are  those  whom 
He  first  greatly  humbles. 

199 


200    SUBJECT  AND  OBJECT  OF  THE  GOSPEL 

*^  God  resisteth  the  proud  and  giveth  grace  to  the 
humble. ' '  And  when  He  gives  grace  to  the  humble  He 
y  gives  all  other  grace.  ^ '  Only  by  pride  cometh  con- 
tention. "  Pride  was  the  chief  ingredient  in  the  sin 
that  turned  angels  into  demons.  If  Satan  ever  again 
knows  what  it  is  to  hope,  it  surely  must  be  when  he 
sees  Christ's  preacher  inflated  with  his  own  proud 
conceit,  for  he  remembers  that  this  was  the  snare 
whereby  he  fell  into  eternal  condemnation. 

Well  pleased  is  our  great  Master  when  He  sees  the 
becoming  grace  of  humility  adorning  the  lives  of  His 
servants.  Both  by  precept  and  example  He  magni- 
fied its  beauty  and  power.  His  whole  earthly  life 
was  the  illustration  and  demonstration  of  His  say- 
ing :  '^I  am  among  you  as  one  that  serveth."  And 
constant  was  His  reiteration  of  the  great  truth, 
*' Whosoever  would  be  first  among  you  let  him  be 
servant  of  all."  The  true  motto  for  all  His  people  is 
that  spoken  by  John:  *'He  must  increase,  but  I 
must  decrease." 

Notwithstanding  the  lowly  view  Paul  had  of  him- 
self, he  greatly  magnified  God's  grace  in  making  him 
a  preacher  of  the  Gospel.  Everywhere  Paul  went,  his 
life  bore  out  the  saying,  ''I  magnify  mine  office. '^ 
The  preacher  who  does  not  should  at  once  give  up 
his  office. 

Nothing  can  take  the  place  of  the  Christian  minis- 
try. The  progress  of  civilization,  the  making  of 
many  books,  the  increase  of  schools  and  learning,  the 
marvelous  triumphs  of  the  press — mighty  as  are  all  of 
these  agencies, — they  can  never  supersede  the  divinely 
sent  preacher.  *'  It  pleased  God  by  the  foolishness  of 
preaching  to  save  them  that  believe. '^ 


SUBJECT  AND  OBJECT  OP  THE  GOSPEL    201 

Let  not  Christ's  minister  for  one  moment  lose  sight 
of  the  divineness  of  his  mission.  Of  such  preacher 
some  one  has  truly  said  :  ''He  holds  a  Divine  com- 
mission, he  proclaims  a  Divine  revelation,  he  is 
animated  by  a  Divine  purpose,  he  accomplishes  a 
Divine  result,  he  is  dependent  upon  a  Divine  Spirit." 
If  the  preacher  will  but  be  true  to  his  sublime  and 
Divine  appointment,  he  shall  stand  among  men  with- 
out rivalry  or  competition — earth's  mightiest  man. 
In  the  great  crises  of  the  past,  matchless  has  been  the 
influence  wielded  by  God's  prophets  and  preachers. 
When  all  other  voices  have  failed,  they  have  rallied 
the  wavering  people  to  the  standards  of  truth  and 
righteousness. 

It  was  the  golden -mouthed  Chrysostom  who  became 
the  oracle  of  the  hour  in  the  days  when  Antioch  was 
smitten  with  terror.  It  was  the  flaming  Augustine 
who  rallied  his  fellow  countrymen  from  despair  and 
breathed  into  their  lives  new  hope  and  purpose,  when 
imperial  Eome  lay  bleeding  and  trampled  beneath  the 
heel  of  an  invading  oppressor.  It  was  the  plain,  yet 
invincible  Luther,  who,  when  reeking  corruption 
reigned  in  the  papal  court  and  spread  its  blight  over 
all  Europe,  spoke  forth  words  that  echoed  as  the 
thunder  and  were  piercing  as  the  lightning,  stirring  a 
revolution  that  thrilled  all  Christendom  and  marking 
a  new  epoch  in  the  civilization  of  the  world. 

As  in  the  past  so  shall  it  be  in  the  future,  that 
God's  foremost  instrument  is  His  preacher,  in  both 
the  civilization  and  the  evangelization  of  the  world. 

Let  it  also  be  said  in  passing  that  there  was  an  ele- 
ment in  Paul's  preaching  that  must  needs  be  in  all 
effective  preaching.     It  was  his  tone  of  authority. 


202    SUBJECT  AND  OBJECT  OF  THE  GOSPEL 

He  believed  with  all  his  heart  his  message,  and  ai 
God's  ambassador  he  delivered  it  without  quailing, 
for  one  moment,  under  any  fire.  "There's  untold 
power  in  him  who  knows  his  mission  is  a  thing  of 
God's  own  willing,  and  that  it  cannot  fail,  though 
doubts  may  shroud  in  cloud  the  transient  hour. "  It 
is  conviction  that  convinces.  Earth's  last  place  for 
stammering  and  indefiniteness  is  the  pulpit.  Christ's 
ambassador  is  to  proclaim  his  Master's  message  rather 
than  to  defend  it.  He  is  a  witness  rather  than  an 
advocate.  Christianity  is  nothing  if  it  is  not  dog- 
matic. It  has  no  reason  for  its  existence  if  it  is  not 
sublimely  positive.  It  is  not  a  conundrum  to  be 
guessed  at,  or  a  theory  to  be  speculated  upon,  but  it 
is  a  divine  revelation  which  is  to  be  implicitly  ac- 
cepted and  followed  with  the  deepest  heart-throb  of 
our  lives.  Christ's  preacher  is  not  here  primarily  to 
teach  Christian  evidences  or  apologetics,  but  his  mes- 
sage is  like  that  of  the  prophet  of  old — "Thus  saith 
the  Lord." 

To  be  continually  on  the  defensive  is  contrary  to 
the  very  genius  and  purpose  of  the  Gospel.  The 
preacher  is  to  be  concerned  mainly  with  the  preach- 
ing of  positive  truth  rather  than  the  refutation  of  pass- 
ing error.  Let  not  the  last  blatant  attack  of  infidelity 
against  the  Bible  be  noticed  overmuch.  It  is  not  the 
chief  business  of  God's  minister  to  answer  the  last  fool 
who  has  escaped  from  the  mortar  in  which  he  was 
brayed.  The  Gospel  faithfully  preached  is  its  own 
best  defense.  Let  us  who  preach  remember  that  we 
speak  by  divine  authority ;  not  theories,  but  facts  ; 
not  what  we  don't  know,  but  what  owr  souls  do  know 
to  their  profoundest  depths.     I  give  it  as  the  humble 


SUBJECT  AND  OBJECT  OF  THE  GOSPEL    203 

ft 

but  deepest  conviction  of  my  heart  that  the  overmas- 
tering necessity  of  the  modern  pulpit  is  a  return  to  that 
dogmatic  tone  of  authority  that  characterized  the 
apostles  in  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  and  that  must 
be  found  in  all  effective  preaching  the  world  over. 
O  my  brethren,  if  we  shall  but  magnify  our  office  as 
did  Paul  and  be  content  just  to  be  faithful  preachers 
of  Christ,  blessed,  eternally  blessed,  shall  be  the  re- 
sults of  our  ministry. 

"  'Tis  not  a  cause  of  small  import, 
A  preacher's  care  demands  ; 
But  what  might  fill  an  angel's  heart, 
And  filled  the  Saviour's  hands." 

Paul  was  saved  for  a  specific  purpose — he  was 
called  unto  a  great  mission.  It  is  so  with  all  the 
redeemed  of  Christ.  What  was  Paul's  mission?  He 
tells  us  in  our  text :  ''That  I  should  preach  among 
the  Gentiles  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ."  Let 
two  thoughts  growing  out  of  the  text  engage  our 
attention. 

First.  The  subject-matter  of  the  preacher's  mes- 
sage. 

Second.  The  ministry  is  the  heaven-appointed 
exponent  of  the  mission  of  every  redeemed  soul. 

The  first  thought  of  our  text  is  : 

I.  The  subject  matter  of  the  preacher's  message. 
From  the  day  when  Paul  first  stood  up  as  a  witness 
for  Christianity,  until  that  eventful  day  when  he  laid 
his  head  upon  the  block  as  a  martyr  for  the  truth,  he 
unwaveringly  held  to  one  great  theme,  and  that  theme 
was  salvation  through  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Once  in  his  long  ministry  he  seemed  somewhat  to 


204    SUBJECT  AKD  OBJECT  OF  THE  GOSPEL 

leave  his  themec  It  was  when  he  contended  with  the 
philosophers  of  Athens  in  his  oration  on  Mars  Hill. 
And  there,  beyond  all  other  places,  did  his  labors 
prove  most  feeble.  It  is  significant  that  immediately 
afterwards  when  he  came  to  Corinth  he  "  determined 
not  to  know  anything  among  them,  save  Jesus  Christ 
and  Him  crucified."  Always  and  everywhere  he  is 
careful  thus  to  go  on  record  :  ^' We  preach  not  our- 
selves but  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord.-'  The  heaven- 
appointed  center  for  all  true  preaching  is  Jesus  Christ, 
and  to  leave  that  center  is  to  lose  the  dominant  power 
and  purpose  of  the  Gospel. 

The  plan  of  human  redemption,  with  Christ  as  the 
great  keystone  in  the  mystic  arch,  is  the  culmination 
and  perfection  of  God's  infinite  mercy,  wisdom  and 
love.  To  bring  it  to  the  attention  of  man,  to  vitalize 
it  and  make  it  a  reality  to  him,  all  the  providences 
of  God  have  been  directed  for  6,000  years.  From  the 
hour  that  the  smoking  blood  of  man's  first  offering 
rose  from  the  sacrificial  altar  down  through  the  ages 
to  the  tragedy  of  Calvary,  every  act  of  worship,  every 
command  of  God,  and  every  providence  were  so  many 
sign-boards  pointing  to  that  last  and  supreme  act  in 
God's  wonderful  plan.  Calvary  has  been  the  focal 
point  upon  which  all  the  powers  of  darkness  have 
hurled  their  darts,  and  it  has  been  the  glorious  prism 
that  has  caught  the  light  of  heaven  and  sent  its  re- 
fracted rays  into  the  thick  darkness  of  earth.  To 
make  a  world,  to  create  a  system,  to  swing  into  space 
this  mighty  canvas,  was  the  work  of  a  word. 

But  the  plan  of  man's  redemption  required  the 
highest  effort  of  the  divine  mind.  It  vacated  the 
throne  of  the  Son  in  heaven  and  brought  the  ' '  mighty 


SUBJECT  AND  OBJECT  OF  THE  GOSPEL    206 

God  "  to  earth  to  dwell  auioiig  meD.  In  the  fuUuess 
of  time,  God  sent  Him  forth  and  yonder  He  lies  the 
infaut  of  Mary  in  Bethlehem's  manger.  For  thirty 
and  three  years  He  walks  the  earthly  way  ^*  a  Man  of 
sorrows  and  acquainted  with  grief.  ^ '  "  He  is  despised 
and  rejected  of  men. "  They  plot  for  His  destruction. 
The  last  night  of  His  life  has  come  and  He  is  betrayed 
into  the  hands  of  His  enemies.  A  mock  trial  is 
hurriedly  had,  and  He  is  adjudged  to  die  upon  the 
cruel  cross.  The  awful  hour  for  His  death  has  come 
and  hellish  malice  nails  Him  to  the  shameful  tree. 
Between  heaven  and  earth  He  hangs,  suffering,  bleed- 
ing, praying,  dying.  His  head  has  fallen  upon  His 
breast.  He  is  dead.  They  take  Him  down  and  now 
earth's  darkest  night  has  come — the  Lord  of  life  and 
glory  lies  silent  in  the  grave.  The  fiends  of  darkness 
now  rise  up  and  hope  begins  to  bloom  in  hell,  for  the 
Sun  of  Eighteousness  has  been  eclipsed  !  Ah,  wait ! 
Sing  not  too  fast,  ye  legions  of  the  pit !  The  dark 
night  will  pass  awa^^  and  there  will  dawn  a  victorious 
morning.  The  morning  has  dawned.  The  fallen 
Conqueror  breaks  the  bands  of  death  and  puts  the 
grave  beneath  His  feet.  Before  a  gazing  world  He 
ascends  on  high,  leading  captivity  captive,  and  gives 
gifts  to  men.  And  now  again  He  is  on  His  throne, 
where  He  reigns  and  loves  and  waits,  to  give  salvation 
to  any  one  who  will  only  dare  to  trust  Him. 

My  brethren  in  the  ministry,  if  Christ  has  given 
unto  us  the  grace  of  preaching,  though  like  Moses 
we  may  have  but  a  stammering  tongue,  yet  in  view 
of  what  man's  redemption  cost,  in  view  of  its  divine 
authority  and  purpose,  shall  we  ever  in  any  presence, 
under  any  earthly  pressure,  for  any  kind  of  reason* 


206    SUBJECT  AND  OBJECT  OF  THE  GOSPEL 

so  far  forget  our  heaven- appointed  mission,  so  grieve 
our  dear  Eedeemer,  so  wrong  a  dying  world,  as  to 
preach  anything  else  except  the  riches  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ?  Preach  philosophy,  or  science,  or 
culture,  or  worldly  wisdom,  or  beautiful  platitudes, 
preach  merely  to  please  men  or  eutertain?  Sooner 
far  let  us  commend  to  the  lips  of  a  famishing  child  a 
painted  glass  filled  with  painted  water  ;  or  to  a 
starving  castaway  apples  of  Sodom  ;  or  to  a  heart- 
broken mother  a  poem  on  the  North  Pole  ;  or  to  a 
dying  sinner  the  fables  of  ^sop. 

Here,  brethren,  is  our  message  made  out  for  us. 
It  is  Jesus  Christ — in  His  divine  personality,  in  the 
spotlessness  of  His  humanity,  in  His  offices  as  Prophet, 
Priest  and  King,  in  the  atoning  efficacy  of  His  death, 
in  the  power  of  His  resurrection,  in  the  prevalence  of 
His  intercession,  in  the  certainty  and  purpose  of  His 
coming  again. 

Does  some  one  venture  to  say  that  this  theme  is 
' '  too  narrow  ?  '  -  Before  he  does,  let  him  remember 
that  ''the  foolishness  of  God  is  wiser  than  men,  and 
the  weakness  of  God  is  stronger  than  men. "  Let  him 
remember  also  that  Christ  on  the  cross  is  the  harmony 
of  every  doctrine  of  divine  revelation.  There  is  seen 
the  enormity  of  man's  sin  and  its  infinite  punishment. 
There  the  mercy  and  truth  of  God  meet  together,  and 
there  His  justice  and  love  are  made  to  shine  with 
eternal  glory.  This  theme  ''  too  narrow  ?  '^  It  is  an 
infinite  ocean  ever  expanding  before  Him  who  seeks 
to  know  its  meaning.  Well  does  Paul  say  of  it  that 
it  is  ''  unsearchable."  In  Christ  is  seen  the  procuring 
cause  of  man's  justification,  redemption,  sanctification 
and  glorification  forever  with  God.     In  Him  is  infinite 


SUBJECT  AND  OBJECT  OF  THE  GOSPEL    20'i 

knowledge  for  every  student,  and  comfort  for  all 
broken- bear tedness,  and  forgiveness  for  every  peni- 
itent  wanderer.  This  is  the  only  balm  in  Gilead  that 
will  surely  heal  the  health  of  earth's  sorrowing,  sin- 
sick  people.  We  ^'daub  with  untempered  mortar" 
when  we  dare  to  preach  anything  else  for  the  healing 
of  the  sorrow  and  sin  of  a  ruined  world.  Man's  sin- 
fulness is  ever  the  same,  and  Christ's  Gospel  is  ever 
the  same,  and  this  message  alone  will  break  up  the 
fallow  ground  of  a  sinful  heart  and  turn  it  to  God. 
Wherever  it  has  gone,  from  king  to  barbarian,  it  has 
turned  men  from  darkness  to  light  and  from  the 
power  of  Satan  unto  God. 

Why  should  we  preach  Christ  and  Him  only  ?  Be- 
cause this  is  the  "  only  name  under  heaven  given 
amoug  men  whereby  we  must  be  saved, '^  and  it  is  to 
save  souls  that  we  are  called  into  Christ's  service. 
Every  other  duty  of  the  preacher  is  iucidental  to  this 
one  supreme  and  all-controlling  object  of  the  Gospel. 
Yet  all  the  preachers  in  the  world  left  to  themselves 
could  not  bring  to  repeutauce  one  child  of  sin. 
Christ  must  save  and  Christ  alone.  He  left  us  the 
supreme  lesson  in  homiletics  when  He  said,  *'And 
I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth,  will  draw  all  men 
unto  Me."  It  is  the  attractive  power  of  the  cross, 
gleaming  like  a  search-light  through  the  words  and 
thoughts  of  the  preacher,  that  kindles  a  fire  on  the 
altar  of  the  sinner's  conscience,  and  turns  him  to 
God.  It  is  only  of  Christ  that  the  Divine  Spirit 
testifies,  and  utterly  futile,  ''twice  dead,  plucked  up 
by  the  roots,"  are  all  our  efforts,  if  we  do  not  have 
"^he  Holy  Spirit's  fructifying  presence  and  power. 

Paul   knew  whence  came  his  power.     He  knev 


208    SUBJECT  AND  OBJECT  OF  THE  GOSPEL 

mat  with  all  his  strength  of  wisdom  and  learning, 
left  to  himself,  he  was  as  powerless  to  save  a  soul  as 
an  atom  floating  in  the  sunbeam  is  to  quench  the 
sun.  Salvation  by  any  human  merit  was  to  him  a 
criminal  doctrine.  He  preached  salvation  by  the 
Lord.  In  every  message  he  boldly  avowed  the 
Deity  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  in  whom  dwelled  all 
the  fullness  of  the  Godhead  bodily.  He  was  God 
manifest  in  the  flesh,  God  over  all,  with  unques- 
tioned and  absolute  right  to  the  loyalty  and  love  of 
every  human  heart.  Christianity  does  not  ask  for 
compliments.  Christ  is  all  and  in  all.  We  are  not 
of  those  who  believe  in  a  Congress  of  Eeligions 
where  Christ  may  receive  little  if  any  larger  atten- 
tion than  Brahma,  or  Buddha,  or  Mohammed,  or 
Joseph  Smith ;  or  where  it  may  even  be  conceded 
that  Christianity  is  the  best  form  of  religion,  pro- 
vided it  be  also  understood  that  all  the  other  relig- 
ions contain  essential  and  saving  truths.  No,  with 
all  our  souls  we  will  denounce  such  treason  against 
Jesus  Christ.  Christ  is  God,  or  He  is  the  arch- 
deceiver  of  the  ages.  And  for  every  theory  against 
His  Deity,  whether  it  be  Socinian,  Sabellian,  Uni- 
tarian, or  what  not,  we  will  say  to  their  advocates : 
''Gentlemen,  your  theories  are  unutterably  con- 
temptible to  us,  and  we  will  have  none  of  your 
bouquets  about  Christ's  'splendid  humanity'  while 
you  scout  His  Deity.  '•  But  our  challenge  shall  be  : 
"  If  the  Lord  be  God,  follow  Him  ;  but  if  Baal,  then 
follow  him." 

We  should  preach  Christ  and  Christ  only,  because 
we  have  no  warrant  or  authority  for  preaching  any- 
thing  else.     Paul  wrote   to    the  Galatians :    "But 


SUBJECT  AND  OBJECT  OF  THE  GOSPEL    209 

though  we,  or  an  angel  from  heaven,  preach  any 
other  gospel  unto  you  than  that  which  we  have 
preached  unto  you,  let  him  be  accursed."  And  then 
in  the  very  next  breath,  in  order  more  deeply  to  im- 
press this  fundamental  truth  with  the  curse  attend- 
ant upon  its  violation,  he  repeats  the  awful  sentence  : 
^' As  we  said  before,  so  say  I  now  again,  if  any  man 
preach  any  other  gospel  unto  you  than  that  ye  have 
received,  let  him  be  accursed."  Ah,  brethren,  like 
Paul,  we  will  have  no  ^' other  gospel,"  for  if  salva- 
tion through  the  atonement  of  Christ  shall  fail,  then 
all  has  failed,  for  this  is  the  very  ultimatum  of  God. 
To  be  sure  "other  gospels"  are  abroad  these  latter 
days,  but  we  shall  unwaveringly  hold  to  the  one — 
^*  Christ  and  Him  crucified."  And  though  many 
are  seeking  to  be  rid  of  that  word  "crucified,"  to  us 
the  great  central  fact  of  our  redemption  is  that 
"Christ  bore  our  sins  in  His  own  body  on  the  tree." 
Salvation  by  His  blood  shall  ever  be  our  theme — we 
will  know  no  other.  We  are  not  ignorant  of  the 
"other  gospels"  that  are  now  being  offered  as  sub- 
stitutes for  the  one.  We  have  the  gospel  of  philos- 
ophy, the  gospel  of  culture,  the  gospel  of  science, 
the  gospel  of  sociology,  the  gospel  of  refined  human - 
Itarianism  that  is  stealthily  finding  its  way  into  some 
pulpits  and  is  gilding  much  of  our  modern  literature 
as  it  softly  talks  about  ' '  reconstructed  manhood. " 
We  know  about  them  all,  and  we  know  that  with  all 
their  keenness  of  speculation  and  polish  of  learning 
and  profundity  of  philosophy,  not  one  of  them  has 
ever  regenerated  a  single  soul.  We  are  not  of  those 
who  have  concluded  that  the  old  gospel  of  the  cross 
is  unsuited  to  the  advanced  thought  and  aesthetic  taste 


210   SUBJECT  AND  OBJECT  OF  THE  GOSPEL 

of  these  cultured  times.  Not  philosophy,  nor  cul- 
ture, nor  sociology,  nor  humanitarianism,  in  fullest 
possible  measure,  can  save  lost  men.  Underneath 
them  all,  the  human  heart  will  still  sin  on  and  sigh 
for  Emanuel's  peace  and  pardon.  The  old,  old  story 
uttered  by  lips  touched  by  a  live  coal  from  off  God's 
altar  and  driven  home  to  men's  consciences  with  the 
voice  of  divine  authority —this  and  this  only  can 
make  the  spiritual  wilderness  to  blossom  as  the  rose. 
It  was  such  preaching  by  George  Whitefield  that, 
more  than  all  things  else,  stirred  the  heart  of  the 
calculating  Franklin,  and  sent  terror  to  the  soul  of 
the  skeptical  Hume.  This  was  the  theme  of  Spur- 
geon  for  nearly  forty  years,  and  under  his  ministry, 
more  than  any  other  in  his  generation,  lost  men 
came  flocking  to  God  as  doves  to  their  windows,  and 
great  Christian  enterprises  sprang  up  like  magic,  and 
the  ever-increasing  philanthropy  and  spiritual  power 
of  his  church  has  been  the  wonder  of  this  century. 

In  contrast  with  such  preaching,  shall  I  say  a 
word  about  the  trivial  and  sensational  themes  of 
some  modern  pulpits  ?  Many  of  them  make  us  blush 
for  very  shame,  for  they  are  a  travesty  .upon  the 
high  calling  of  Christ's  ambassador.  Take  this 
series  of  sermons  for  instance — mind  you,  of  ser- 
mons :  Shakespeare,  Business,  Courtiug,  The  Scold- 
ing Wife,  The  Husband  Who  Stays  Out  Late  at 
Night,  The  Bicycle,  The  Two-headed  Woman,  Jack 
and  the  Beanstalk,  Tan  Shoes  and  Negligee  Shirts, 
Bid  Man  Come  from  the  Monkey?  Ah,  when  the 
preacher  will  thus  pose  as  a  mountebank  and  turn 
the  sanctuary  of  God  into  a  show-house,  do  you  won- 
der at  Sidney  Smith's  saying?    ^  was  this  :  ^*  There 


r- 


SUBJECT  A:N^D  object  of  the  gospel    211 

are  three  orders  in  creation,  rneu,  women,  and 
preachers.''  All  such  sensationalism  in  the  pulpit 
is  worse  than  sawdust.  It  is  born  of  the  secular  and 
smacks  of  the  street,  and  is  a  burning  shame  upon 
the  Christian  ministry.  If  the  history  of  preaching 
proves  anything,  it  proves  that  the  preacher  can 
have  no  deep  and  permanent  grasp  of  power  except 
as  he  holds  up  Christ  and  the  great  doctrines  insep- 
arable from  Him.  No  other  preaching  will  even 
secure  lasting  morality,  not  to  speak  of  regeneration. 

Surely  if  any  man  who  ever  lived  might  have 
hoped  for  good  results  from  preaching  something 
else  than  Christ,  Paul  might  have  so  ventured  to  try 
it.  He  was  deeply  versed  in  all  the  learning  of  the 
East,  a  great  logician,  a  brilliant  rhetorician,  having 
a  fervid  fancy,  a  soaring  imagination,  and  a  mag 
netic  power  over  men.  He  might  easily  have 
brought  to  his  feet  the  proud  Pharisee,  the  stoical 
Scribe,  the  curious  Greek,  and  the  credulous  Barba- 
rian. But  at  his  feet  he  knew  that  they  would  have 
been  no  better  off,  no  nearer  salvation  than  if  they 
had  never  heard  his  voice.  He  could  have  inter- 
ested and  pleased  them,  but  he  declared  :  ^*If  I  yet 
pleased  men,  I  should  not  be  the  servant  of  Christ." 
**I  preached  philosophy  and  men  applauded;  I 
preached  Christ  and  men  repented." 

My  brothers,  we  are  not  here  to  win  men  by 
cleverness  of  speech.  We  are  to  be  concerned,  not 
that  men  may  see  our  handsome  bow  and  arrows  and 
our  skilful  use  of  the  same,  but  that  we  may  hear  the 
cries  of  the  wounded  of  the  Lord  :  ''  Men  and  breth- 
ren, what  must  we  do  to  be  saved  1 "  You  have  heard 
of  certain  preaching  as  an  **  intellectual  treat,"  as 


212   SUBJECT  AND  OBJECT  OP  THE  GOSPEL 

something  '' perfectly  grand,"  and  all  that.  Our 
mission  as  preachers  means  nothing  of  the  sort. 
If  our  preaching  causes  men  to  think  that  intellect 
or  anything  else  is  even  to  be  compared  with  the 
saving  of  an  immortal  soul,  then  are  we  guilty  of 
treason  against  the  Gospel  of  God's  Son. 

Paul  had  no  time  to  deal  in  platitudes.  To  him 
the  world  was  lost.  On  the  brow  of  every  unsaved 
man  the  awful  judgment  of  God,  *' condemned  al- 
ready," was  written  in  letters  of  Stygian  blackness. 
This  condemnation  was  to  Paul  no  idle  dream,  but  it 
was  a  present,  awful  reality,  the  contemplation  of 
which  burned  in  his  bones  like  a  fire  and  made  him 
*' count  not  his  life  dear  unto  himself"  if  only  he 
might  preach  unto  a  lost  world  the  ' '  unsearchable 
riches  of  Christ." 

Paul  might  have  taken  to  the  lecture  platform  to 
be  what  they  now  call  a  ''moral  reformer."  He 
might  have  spent  his  days  declaring  against  the 
popular  sins  of  avarice,  pride  and  formalism  ;  or 
against  the  abuses  and  corruptions  of  government, 
and  raised  a  world-wide  riot  against  Eoman  usurpa- 
tion and  tyranny.  He  might  have  poured  the  vials 
of  his  wrath  upon  hypocrisy,  extortion,  licentious- 
ness, and  the  whole  category  of  common  sins  j  but 
instead  of  all  this,  he  steadfastly  clung  to  the  one 
sufficient  theme,  ''  Christ  and  Him  crucified."  There 
is  now  a  great  itch  abroad  in  the  land  demanding 
*' reform."  From  theology  clear  down  to  a  city 
council,  there  must  be  an  overhauling  of  things.  The 
air  is  filled  with  screaming  voices  who  propose  to 
adjust  the  discordant  elements  of  both  Church  and 
State.     The  rivers  of  reform  must  wash  out  the 


SUBJECT  AND  OBJECT  OF  THE  GOSPEL   213 

Augean  stables  everywhere,  and  scorching  denuncia- 
tion must  be  hurled  against  sin,  whether  in  places 
high  or  low.  And  shall  not  Christ's  preacher  faith- 
fully rebuke  sin  everywhere  ?  Ah,  yes,  but  His  is  a 
far  larger  gospel  than  merely  that.  The  preaching 
that  has  Christ  for  its  center  will  work  every  reform, 
and  such  reform  will  be  permanent.  Eightly  did  some 
one  say  that  the  proof  of  Christ's  greatness  was  that 
He  could  stand  before  the  Eoman  empire  and  never 
strike  it.  He  struck  deeper  than  external  conditions 
— He  struck  the  hearts  of  men.  Though  corruptioD 
reigned  on  every  side  and  sin  was  defiant,  yet  He 
pointed  men,  not  to  outward  conditions  or  questions, 
but  to  the  eternal  verities  of  God.  The  emphasis  of 
His  message  was  put  upon  God  and  not  upon  man. 
It  was  so  with  the  twelve  ;  it  was  so  with  Paul ;  it 
was  so  with  John  the  Baptist ;  it  was  so  with  God's 
prophets  of  old  ;  it  is  so  with  every  successful  winner 
of  souls. 

All  sins  are  included  in  the  one  sin  of  the  rejection 
of  Christ.  For  this  reason,  Paul  knew — and  the  truth 
is  overwhelming,  eternal,  divine — that  though  he 
could  drive  all  men  from  their  sins  outwardly,  yet 
they  would  still  be  lost  eternally,  without  **  Christ  in 
them  the  hope  of  glory."  He  knew  that  it  was 
worse  than  useless  to  drive  all  these  devils  out  of  the 
heart,  if  there  was  not  a  '* strong  man  armed"  to 
keep  them  out.  Otherwise  the  '4ast  state  of  that 
man  would  be  worse  than  the  first,"  He  knew  that 
if  He  preached  Christ,  the  power  of  God  unto  salva- 
tion, and  He  was  received  into  the  heart,  the  expul- 
sive power  of  this  new  affection  would  triumph  over 
ail  sin  and  save  the  soul  from  death. 


214    SUBJECT  AND  OBJECT  OF  THE  GOSPEL 

Fathers  and  brothers,  in  the  divine  vocation  of  the 
ministry,  especially  my  young  comrades  in  this  holy 
warfare,  let  us  not  be  triflers  in  our  heaven -appointed 
mission.  Contemptible  is  the  memory  of  Nero — he 
fiddled  while  Eome  was  burning.  Aeropus,  of 
Macedonia,  was  one  of  the  most  insignificant  kings 
in  history,  because  he  spent  his  time  whittling  on 
trifies  while  the  supreme  interests  of  his  kingdom 
were  disregarded.  How  like  them  both  is  the 
preacher  who  expends  his  energies  upon  secular  and 
transient  themes,  never  touching  the  great  center  of 
truth,  and  having  an  indifferent  regard  to  the  mo- 
mentous interests  of  eternity.  May  our  fidelity  to 
Jesus  be  far  more  sublime  than  that  of  the  French 
soldiers  who  so  loved  their  Emperor  that,  thougii 
wounded  and  dying  on  the  field  of  battle,  with  one 
last  effort  they  would  turn  upon  their  elbows  and  cry 
out  as  he  passed  :  ^'  Long  live  the  Emperor  !  '^ 

O  my  brothers,  it  matters  little  what  shall  become 
of  us  if  only  we  shall  exalt  the  name  of  Christ.  Our 
ease,  our  worldly  prospects,  our  reputation,  all  may 
go  for  naught,  if  only  always  and  everywhere  we  may 
know  only  this— to  exalt  the  name  of  Christ. 

**  Happy  if  with  my  latest  breath 
I  may  but  speak  His  name ; 
Preach  Him  to  all,  and  gasp  in  death, 
Behold,  behold,  the  Lamb  !  " 

But  now,  more  briefly,  let  us  look  at  the  second 
thought  deduced  from  the  text : 

n.  The  ministry  is  the  heaven-appointed  exponent 
of  the  mission  of  every  redeemed  soul.  As  Paul  was 
saved  for  a  specific  purpose  and  called  into  a  great 


SUBJECT  AND  OBJECT  OF  THE  GOSPEL    215 

mission,  so  is  it  true  of  every  redeemed  soul  in  the 
kingdom  of  God.  Salvation  is  often  too  narrowly 
defined.  It  not  only  saves  from,  but  it  saves  unto. 
It  not  only  bestows  unspeakable  benefits,  but  it 
imposes  world-wide  obligations.  It  not  only  has 
reference  to  ourselves,  but  we  are  made  Christians  in 
order  that  we  may  instrumentally  make  other  Chris- 
tians. Paul's  life  was  one  sublime  effort  to  be  true 
to  the  last  command  of  Christ :  '*  Go  ye  into  all  the 
world  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature." 
That  command  has  never  been  revoked,  nor  in  any 
wise  modified,  and  is  as  binding  upon  us  as  it  was 
upon  Paul  or  upon  those  that  heard  it  as  it  fell  from 
the  Master's  lips  on  Olivet. 

Christianity  is  essentially  and  fundamentally  mis- 
sionary. He  who  reads  God's  Word  aright  sees  that 
the  missionary  idea  is  the  very  essence  of  divine 
revelation.  It  proclaims  this  truth  with  ten  thou- 
sand tongues  of  fire.  If  you  could  but  banish  from 
the  Gospel  the  missionary  idea  it  would  never  give 
forth  another  sound.  No  sinner  would  ever  again  be 
invited  to  Christ.  No  Bible  would  ever  again  be 
printed  or  circulated  except  as  a  money  venture. 
And  the  whole  scheme  of  Christianity  would  collapse 
under  the  superincumbent  weight  of  an  inordinate 
and  all-prevalent  selfishness. 

Missions  is  not  simply  an  organ  of  the  church,  but 
the  church  itself  is  the  organ  for  missions.  To  this 
end  the  church  was  made — for  this  cause  Christ 
brought  it  into  the  world.  The  work  of  missions 
therefore  is  not  a  little  optional  annex  to  a  church, 
but  it  is  as  essential  to  the  true  work  of  the  church 
as  is  the  heart  essential  to  the  human  body. 


216    SUBJECT  AND  OBJECT  OF  THE  GOSPEL 

What  is  Christ's  Church  ?  It  is  His  body,  the  in 
strumeut  of  His  purpose  of  which  He  is  the  head.  It 
is  the  business  of  the  head  to  direct  and  control  the 
body.  Christ,  the  great  Head,  is  lawgiver  and 
director  over  His  body,  the  Church.  The  mission  of 
Christ's  Church  must  be  identical  with  the  mission  of 
Christ  Himself.  What  was  His  mission  ?  Find  that 
out  and  you  will  know  the  mission  of  every  church 
and  every  individual  Christian.  He  Himself  so 
tells  us  :  ''As  My  Father  hath  sent  Me,  even  so  send 
I  you."  Here  is  the  great  source  of  the  church's 
authority  and  purpose.  And  a  church  could  furnish 
KO  other  evidence  half  so  strong  that  she  is  not  a  New 
Testament  church  as  the  refusal  or  disinclination  to 
obey  Christ's  last  and  all-inclusive  commandment. 
And  a  preacher,  even  though  he  may  have  been 
baptized  and  may  talk  much  about  ''soundness  in 
faith, "  could  furnish  no  stronger  evidence  that  he  is 
not  in  the  apostolic  succession  than  that  he  is  not  a 
missionary. 

High  time  is  it  that  the  consciences  of  very  many 
people  were  faithfully  aroused  as  to  the  nature  and 
meaning  of  Christ's  churches  in  the  world.  False 
views  abound  on  every  side.  A  church  of  Christ  is 
not  an  ark  in  which  a  few  of  the  elect  are  to  be  hap- 
pily housed  in  order  that  they  may  float  around  joy- 
fully over  the  drowning  world  beneath  them.  Nor  is 
it  a  ship,  passage  upon  which  will  land  us  in  the 
heavenly  country.  Nor  is  it  an  insurance  company, 
to  which  we  may  pay  dues  now  and  then,  and  thus 
certainly  secure  our  dear  selves  against  all  loss.  Nor 
is  it  a  hospital  for  healing  all  manner  of  sickness. 
Nor  is  it  a  select  social  club  with  a  toast-master  to 


SUBJECT  AND  OBJECT  OF  THE  GOSPEL    217 

call  out  such  themes  as  shall  j) revoke  the  building  up 
of  a  mutual  admiration  society.  Nor  is  it  a  debating 
society  where  more  attention  is  to  be  given  to  the  fine 
points  of  ecclesiasticism  rather  than  to  the  consuming 
passion  of  Christianity.  Nor  is  it  a  school  where  we 
may  gather  as  students  to  be  forever  taught.  Nor  is 
it  merely  a  place  of  worship  where  we  may  give  our- 
selves to  song  and  praise  and  meditation  about  our 
heavenly  inheritance. 

Christ's  Church  is  not  any  of  these  nor  all  of  them 
combined ;  but  with  my  whole  heart  I  declare  that 
His  Church  exists  primarily  to  give  the  Gospel  to  all 
the  world. 

This  great  motive  is  its  native  air,  and  any  church 
that  will  persistently  ignore  this  heaven-appointed 
work  does  not  have  the  moral  right  to  the  plat  of 
ground  on  which  the  church  building  stands.  Chris- 
tianity is  incomparably  more  than  a  creed — it  is  a 
life.  Any  other  conception  than  that  Christ's  Church 
is  to  be  a  soul -saving  army  is  a  caricature  upon  the 
churches  of  the  New  Testament.  And  the  day  comes 
on  apace — may  God  speed  its  coming— when  any 
church  not  missionary  both  in  spirit  and  practice 
shall  be  regarded  as  a  monstrosity,  and  when  the 
regular  giving  of  money  for  world-wide  evangeliza- 
tion shall  be  as  great  a  test  of  orthodoxy  as  is 
baptism. 

Furthermore,  Christ's  Church  is  to  be  sublimely 
aggressive  rather  than  defensive.  He  did  not  mean 
that  His  soldiers  should  be  chiefly  engaged  in  building 
forts  of  defense.  Any  church  that  merely  sits  and 
sings  *'  hold  the  fort "  will  soon  have  no  fort  to  hold. 
We  hear  a  great  deal  now  about  '^expansion."    J 


318    SUBJECT  AND  OBJECT  OF  THE  GOSPEL 

dou't  know  what  the  politicians  intend  to  make  of  it 
all,  but  I  do  know  that  the  key -word  of  Christianity 
is  expansion.  * '  His  dominion  shall  extend  from  sea 
to  sea,  and  from  the  river  unto  the  uttermost  ends  of 
the  earth."  Napoleon  said:  "Conquest  has  made 
me  what  I  am  and  conquest  must  maintain  me." 
Inviolably  true  is  it  of  Christ's  churches  that  con- 
quest must  ever  be  their  watchword.  Not  only  the 
well-being  but  the  very  being  of  a  church  depends 
upon  its  fidelity  to  the  one  design  for  which  Christ 
brought  it  into  the  world.  Self-preservation  demands 
that  it  shall  be  missionary.  The  anti-mission  spirit  is 
the  death  of  spiritual  develoi^ment.  It  is  the  fruitful 
parent  of  coldness,  selfishness,  and  hardness  of  heart, 
and  it  is  the  hotbed  and  breeding  place  of  suspicion, 
bickerings,  malice,  heresy  and  all  uncharitableness. 
The  consequences  to  a  church  without  the  mission 
spirit  are  so  direful  that  it  becomes  a  hospital,  and 
unless  it  is  converted,  God  removes  its  candlestick 
and  then  it  becomes  a  graveyard.  Our  only  safety  is 
that  we  give  ourselves  to  the  supreme  purpose  and 
passion  of  Christianity.  Yea  more,  our  very  culture 
shall  become  our  hindrance  if  it  be  not  inflamed  and 
impassioned  by  the  Spirit  of  Christ. 

What  shall  be  our  motive  for  this  great  work  ! 
The  first  and  supreme  motive  for  all  missionary  work 
is  the  command  of  Jesus  Christ.  Surely  this  is  an  all- 
sufficient  reason.  No  Christian  has  the  right  to  cavil 
or  halt  one  second  here.  Even  though  a  thousand 
objections  to  the  work  might  be  presented,  and  though 
it  were  shown  that  it  would  take  uncounted  resources, 
both  of  men  and  money,  to  reach  one  single  heathen^ 
yet  the  duty  to  obey  would  not  be  altered  one  iota. 


SUBJECT  AND  OBJECT  OF  THE  GOSPEL    219 

Oiir  Saviour  and  Kiug  commands  world-wide  evan 
gelization,  and  disobedience  to  such  command  for  any 
cause  is  bald  treachery  to  our  trust  as  Christians,  and 
cold  treason  against  Jesus  Christ. 

There  are  many  other  reasons  for  obedience  to  such 
command,  but  they  are  unnecessary  except  as  they 
may  awaken  our  zeal  and  strengthen  our  faith. 
There  are  the  motives  of  gratitude,  and  chivalry,  and 
sympathy,  the  marvelous  missionary  triumphs  al- 
ready achieved,  and  still  other  motives,  potent  and 
urgent.  But  underlying  all  these  motives  and  springs 
of  action  is  the  plain,  unchangeable  command  of 
Christ. 

At  the  bloody  battle  of  Troy,  Henry  IV  of  France 
said  to  his  soldiers  :  -^  When  you  lose  sight  of  your 
colors,  rally  to  my  white  plume.  You  will  always 
find  it  in  the  way  to  glory.' '  So  when  every  other 
motive  to  missionary  effort  fails,  this  one — loyalty  to 
Christ's  command — stands  firm  as  the  adamantine 
hills.  And  loyalty  to  Christ,  we  have  always  made 
bold  to  say,  is  the  fundamental  principle  in  our 
denominational  life.  We  reject  utterly  all  assumed 
authority  from  any  human  source  whatsoever.  "  One 
is  our  Master,  even  Christ."  We  boldly  repudiate 
the  right  of  pope  or  council,  or  anybody  else,  to  ignore 
Scriptural  baptism,  or  change  that  ordinance  in  any 
respect  from  the  Christ-given  pattern. 

O  my  brethren,  I  pause  and  tremble  as  I  ask  what 
shall  be  said  of  our  loyalty  to  Christ's  last  but  all- 
inclusive  command  ?  Take  the  figures  :  One  billion 
human  beings  are  without  the  Gospel ;  forty  millions 
die  every  year ;  one  hundred  thousand  die  every 
day  ;    four  die  every  time  we  breathe ;    and  yet 


220    SUBJECT  AND  OBJECT  OF  THE  GOSPEL 

Southern  Baptists  are  giving  only  a  few  cents  a 
member  a  year  for  their  eternal  salvation  !  I  wonder 
if  that  is  the  one-thousandth  part  of  our  proper  loy- 
alty to  Christ  on  the  question  of  money  !  I  wonder 
if  hundreds  of  men  in  this  Convention  should  not 
this  hour  be  preaching  the  Gospel  in  the  regions 
beyond ! 

We  shall  not  cease  to  make  much  of  orthodoxy, 
but  I  would  write  it  this  night  in  letters  of  living 
fire  that  true  orthodoxy  is  lacking  in  any  preacher  or 
church  that  can  close  the  ear  against  the  Macedonian 
cry  of  earth's  perishing  millions  and  maintain  an  in- 
different concern  to  our  Master's  command  to  '^go." 
There  is  a  heresy  of  inaction  as  well  as  of  precept. 
How  much  better  is  faith  without  works  than  works 
without  faith?  There  is  such  a  thing  as  a  dead 
orthodoxy.  We  may  orate  eloquently  about  creeds 
and  engage  in  endless  discussion  over  the  fine  points 
of  ecclesiasticism,  but  above  all  this  stands  out  the 
living  Word  of  God  :  ^  ^  Be  ye  doers  of  the  Word,  and 
not  hearers  only. "  "If  ye  love  Me,  ye  will  keep  My 
commandments."  I  plead  for  a  living  orthodoxy, 
not  a  dry,  dead  dogma,  out  of  which  has  gone  all 
the  blood  and  heart- beat,  leaving  only  a  grinning, 
ghastly  skeleton  behind,  but  an  orthodoxy,  every 
pulsation  of  which  can  be  felt  and  which  is  the  in- 
carnation of  practical  loyalty  to  God. 

Our  great  people,  wf'U  is  it  J-  p. own,  are  sublimely 
set  for  the  defense  of  the  faith  once  delivered  and  as 
sublimely  set  against  all  heresy.  God  be  thanked  ! 
May  we  always  stand  for  the  simple  faith  of  the  New 
Testament  and  declare  that  there  is  a  difference,  yea, 
even  an  impassable  gulf,  between  truth  and  erroi; 


SUBJECT  AND  OBJECT  OF  THE  GOSPEL    221 

But  when  we  do  this,  let  us  remember  that  the  ^*  life 
ia  more  than  meat  and  the  body  more  than  raiment." 
Let  us  remember  that  the  deadliest  of  all  heresies  is 
the  anti-mission  heresy.  And  let  us  remember  that 
the  anti-mission  heresy  is  the  black  plague  of  the 
Southern  Baptist  Convention. 

Brethren,  the  hour  comes  to  our  people,  and  even 
now  is,  that  the  landmark  that  most  of  all  needs  re- 
setting is  the  restoring  of  a  predominant  mission 
spirit  to  all  our  people.  Let  it  be  understood 
throughout  all  of  our  borders,  from  the  blue  waters 
of  the  Chesapeake  to  the  silvery  sands  of  the  Eio 
Grande,  that  we  regard  as  our  life  business  the  evan- 
gelization of  the  world.  That  all  our  denomina- 
tional enterprises  have  utterly  missed  their  purpose, 
if  they  do  not  stand  for  the  central  truth  of  Chris- 
tianity. Let  this  be  true  of  our  denominational 
papers,  of  our  Christian  colleges,  of  yonder  match- 
less Theological  Seminary.  Oh,  when  we  have  as 
much  Christianity  as  we  have  orthodoxy,  then  will 
we  soon  take  the  world  for  Jesus  ! 

It  is  said  that  over  the  door  of  the  Alhambra,  an 
old  Moorish  palace,  on  the  one  side,  carved  in  stone, 
was  a  book,  and  on  the  other  side,  reaching  out  to 
clasp  the  book,  was  a  hand.  In  connection  with  this 
there  was  a  legend  that  some  day  the  hand  would 
clasp  the  book  and  then  the  Alhambra  would  fall. 
That  old  Moorish  palace  may  be  taken  as  a  symbol 
of  the  dark  kingdom  of  evil  in  the  earth — Satan's 
Alhambra,  for  whose  subjugation  and  destruction 
God's  people  go  forth  to  war.  When  will  Satan's 
stronghold  be  beaten  down  and  the  victory  of  God's 
people    be    complete?    It  will  be  when  the  hamd 


222    SUBJECT  AND  OBJECT  OF  THE  GOSPEL 

clasps  the  Book.  The  hand  is  the  hand  of  Duty  and 
the  Book  is  the  book  of  Doctrine,  and  when  duty 
and  doctrine  go  forth  united  in  the  fullness  and 
power  of  meaning  intended  of  God,  then  shall  the 
Alhambra  of  sin  speedily  totter  to  its  everlasting 
doom  and  Christ  shall  be  exalted  Lord  over  all  for- 
evermore ! 

Brethren,  I  believe  that  the  hour  of  destiny  has 
come  to  our  people.  The  voice  of  God's  providence 
rings  out  louder  than  the  voice  of  many  waters,  *  *  Go 
forward !''  Every  Eed  Sea  of  difiiculty  has  been 
divided  and  the  gates  to  all  the  nations  stand  ajar. 
A  little  while  ago  the  obstacles  everywhere  seemed 
insuperable.  An  impassable  wall  surrounded  China. 
The  ports  of  Japan  were  entirely  sealed.  The  Dark 
Continent  was  impenetrable,  even  to  the  explorer. 
The  isles  of  the  ocean  were  thronged  with  cannibals 
more  to  be  dreaded  than  all  the  dangers  of  the  sea. 
Now  the  doors  swing  wide  open  to  every  people. 
Japan  is  white  to  the  harvest.  India  is  restless  to 
hear  of  Jesus.  The  great  men  of  China  yearn  to 
know  the  oracles  of  God.  Mohammed's  crescent 
wanes  and  the  shrines  of  every  false  religion  now  are 
tottering  and  their  idols  begin  to  crumble  into  dust. 
The  nations  are  impressible  as  the  wax.  The  signs 
of  the  times,  the  policies  of  governments,  the  majestic 
march  of  events,  are  all  instinct  with  divine  mean- 
ings and  are  the  true  burning  bush  whereby  God  is 
mightily  revealing  Himself  to  the  world.  At  last, 
even  the  very  elements  of  nature  have  all  been  laid 
under  tribute  for  the  forwarding  of  the  chariot.  We 
stand  facing  the  opportunity  of  the  ages.  My  broth- 
ers, in  the  presence  of  such  matchless  opportunities, 


SUBJECT  AND  OBJECT  OF  THE  GOSPEL    223 

iu  this  day  of  the  right  hand  of  God,  ought  not  every 
mail  of  us  to  cease  from  all  minor  things  and  join  in 
the  sublime  effort  at  once  to  give  the  Gospel  to  the 
world  ? 

A  French  drummer  boy  was  once  urged  by  a  flee- 
ing officer  to  "  beat  a  retreat,"  and  the  boy  replied  : 
•'  Sire,  I  cannot  beat  a  retreat,  but  oh,  I  can  beat  a 
forward  march  that  would  make  the  dead  fall  into 
line."  O  Baptists  of  the  South,  let  us  from  this  Con- 
vention beat  a  forward  march,  the  spirit  of  which 
shall  penetrate  our  churches  like  a  flame  of  fire,  and 
this  year  call  forth  men  and  money  in  such  won 
drous  fashion  as  shall  fill  the  whole  earth  with  aston- 
ishment and  demonstrate  that  our  only  concern  this 
side  of  heaven  is  to  be  loyal  to  Jesus  Christ.  Breth- 
ren, I  believe  that  even  Satan  himself  marvels  at  our 
slowness.  Israel  took  forty  years  to  make  a  journey 
that  ought  to  have  been  made  in  a  few  days.  We 
are  doing  that  very  thing  to-day.  One  thousand  of 
our  churches  in  the  South  ought  to  support  one  mis- 
sionary each  for  the  coming  year.  God  give  us  obe- 
dience to  such  heavenly  vision  ! 

For  a  long,  long  while  there  came  on  every  sigh- 
ing breezing  from  the  fair  isle  of  Cuba  a  piteous  cry 
for  help.  At  last  our  land  rose  up  and  with  men 
and  money  went  forth  and  gave  relief.  Adown 
the  centuries  there  has  come  an  unceasing  cry  in 
tones  of  tenderest  love  :  "I  thirst."  I  hear  it  even 
now,  "I  thirst."  Whose  is  the  voice?  It  is  the 
voice  of  Jesus  dying  on  the  cross,  ^*I  thirst."  That 
thirst  has  never  yet  been  quenched.  He  thirsts  for 
China,  for  Asia  and  Africa,  for  the  Filipinos,  for 
poor  lost  men  wherever  found.     O  let  us  rise  up  an5 


224    SUBJECT  AND  OBJECT  OP  THE  GOSPEL 

quench  His  thirst !  Then  shall  He  see  the  travail  of 
His  soul  and  be  satisfied.  And  all  the  redeemed 
shall  be  satisfied  with  Him,  and  from  all  their  blood- 
washed  lips  this  glad  hosannah  shall  ring  out  for- 
ever :  Emanuel — God  with  us ! 


Printed  in  the   United  States  of  America 


Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  01095  3463 


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